Surendra Koli, whose name remained linked to the infamous 2006 Nithari killings for nearly two decades, died by suicide in Haridwar on Friday, police said. He was found dead inside a small tea kiosk in the Bhupatwala area, months after the Supreme Court acquitted him in the last remaining case against him.

Police said the death appeared to be a suicide at first sight, but the circumstances are being investigated. A forensic team examined the spot and the body was sent for post-mortem. No suicide note was found. Koli’s family in Almora has been informed.

Koli, 50, had been living in Haridwar for several months. He had earlier worked as a security guard in Roshnabad before moving to Bhupatwala. Police said he had started operating the tea kiosk only a few days before his death. The stall was located opposite the Lal Mata Temple in the Sapt Rishi area.

The incident was reported to police after Koli was found hanging inside the stall. Officers reached the spot and identified him using an Aadhaar card found there. Investigators are now trying to establish his recent movements, contacts and circumstances before his death.

Koli’s death comes less than a year after the Supreme Court cleared the final legal hurdle in his long-running Nithari case. In November 2025, the court allowed his curative petition in the case involving the rape and murder of a teenage girl and set aside his conviction. He was released from prison after spending nearly 19 years in custody.

The legal history of the case had changed dramatically in the years before his release. Koli had initially been convicted in multiple cases connected to the Nithari killings and was sentenced to death in several of them. Those convictions were later overturned through a series of appeals.

In October 2023, the Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases. The court pointed to serious shortcomings in the investigation and insufficient evidence. The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed challenges to those acquittals. Its decision in November 2025 ended the final case against Koli, leaving him acquitted in all the Nithari-related cases.

The Nithari killings had shocked the country when human remains were discovered near a bungalow in Sector 31, Noida, in December 2006. The recovery followed complaints about children and young women who had gone missing from the area.

Koli had worked as a domestic help at the house of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Both men were arrested after the discovery of the remains, and multiple cases were registered. The Central Bureau of Investigation later took over the probe as the case drew intense public attention.

The investigation and trials continued for years. Koli’s convictions initially became a major part of the case, but later court proceedings raised questions over the evidence and investigation. His acquittals in 2023 and the Supreme Court’s final decision in 2025 brought an unexpected end to his nearly two-decade legal battle.

His release also marked a sharp change in his life. After spending most of his adult years in prison, Koli moved to Haridwar and worked there before starting the tea kiosk.

Police have not given any confirmed reason for his death. Officials said the forensic examination and post-mortem would help establish the circumstances. Investigators are also speaking to people who knew Koli in Haridwar and examining his recent activities.

The Nithari case had remained one of India’s most closely followed criminal investigations since the discovery of the remains in 2006. Koli’s death has once again brought the case into the spotlight, nearly 20 years after it first shook Noida and the country.