Family members of the Nithari killings’ victims on Tuesday said they were “not surprised” by the acquittal of Surendra Koli, after the top court paved the way for his release, but were reluctant to admit that neither Koli, who worked as a domestic help during the time of the incident, nor homeowner Moninder Singh Pandher was guilty.
The mother of a 10-year-old girl victim was inconsolable upon hearing Koli’s acquittal.
“All of them out there are blind. We know that he will be released, everything is under the control of money. Why is no one asking and raising questions that if they (Surendra Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher) are not guilty, then who committed the crime? If they are innocent, why were they kept behind bars for so many years?” she said.
Her husband also joined in. “They (investigative agencies) should have found out who did the crime, if not Koli or Pandher. The court should have taken action against officers who botched up the investigation,” he said.
“We are poor, earn barely ₹50 to ₹100 every day by ironing clothes. We knew that we cannot win this case, I lost everything in the hope of getting justice. We were residing there (Nithari) for the past few years as people from the media approached us and we had hope. Now, there is nothing left,” he said.
Another parent, who lost his five-and-a-half-year-old son, said, “If Koli and Pandher are not responsible, then who is? Who will tell us who killed our children?”
Except for the families of the two victims, all the other 17 have left Noida.
During a spot check, HT found that the overgrown shrubs and creepers of the infamous D-5 bungalow had been removed, and now the crumbling walls are clearly visible. “We are confident that Pandher is clearing his house following the acquittal,” said a family member of the girl victim.
Locals and neighbours who have been residing in Nithari since the incident took place said that the village has come to be defined by the bungalow address. “Whenever we call anyone and inform them about my address, they say it’s the D-5 bungalow area where the kids were killed,” a barber working in the locality said.
A group of women, who were chatting outside their house in Nithari, said that “the case changed the identity of the entire area. Now, people do not leave their children alone in this area.”