It is true that the bones of 19 children and women were found in Nithari, Noida, in 2006. It is also true that it was decided well before the trials in any of those cases that the two men, Surendra Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher, were guilty of these crimes, with the imagery of cannibalism etched in our collective memories. However, the terms of justice seem to be severely contested in light of the acquittals for Koli and Pandher. On the one hand is the scale of the loss to families of the victims and on the other is our collective commitment to the rule of law and presumption of innocence. It is not easy to stay committed to these principles in the face of such human tragedy. Does it matter whether there was reliable evidence to convict Koli and Pandher? Or, should we demand a conviction at all costs despite what we might make of the evidence?
The legal journey
The saga began in December 2006 when human bones were found in the nala outside kothi number D-5 in Nithari, where Koli resided with his employer Pandher. This led to a lurid tale of rape, murder, and cannibalism that Koli confessed to to a Magistrate after spending almost 60 days in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). His pleas in the confession that he had been tortured and tutored by the police were ignored by the Magistrate. The CBI registered 16 cases for 16 murders.
