Ghaziabad: In the first of the Nithari case verdicts, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court yesterday convicted businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surendra Koli for raping and killing 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar.
Special Judge Rama Jain held Pandher and Koli guilty of murder and rape of Haldar, one of the 19 young women and children from Nithari village in Noida area whose body parts were found in a drain behind Pandher's bungalow in December 2006.
While Koli was also found guilty under the additional charge of abduction, Pandher will be punished for destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy. Both the accused now face charges punishable with death.
Jain will pronounce the quantum of punishment today morning. This is the first verdict in the 19 cases registered by the CBI.
After the conviction was announced, Pandher's wife Devinder Kaur and son Karandeep burst into tears.
Karandeep hugged his father and said: "Sorry Papa I could not save you." To which Pandher replied: "Don't cry?"
Avoiding the media glare, the family immediately left the courtroom while Pandher and Koli were whisked away by the police.
Hours before the ruling, the judge called Pandher and Koli in her courtroom and asked Pandher if he wanted to say something about the confessional statement Koli had given in a Delhi court in 2007.
To this, Pandher shook his head and said: "I don't want to." Jain prodded him further about his involvement with a woman named Payal, who was mentioned in Koli's statement. Koli had said Pandher allegedly had sexual relations with the women victims "who would often spend the night".
To this, Pandher did not deny his involvement, and said, "Yes, yes [haan haan] Payal". The two men were arrested December 29, 2006, after the Noida police found 15 skulls outside the businessman's D-5 bungalow in Noida on the outskirts of the national capital.
Subsequently, more bones were recovered from the drain behind the bungalow.
"My faith in justice has strengthened. I pray to god for a similar judgement in other cases. I am sure justice will come in our favour. We want the duo to be hanged," said Rajesh Kumar, the brother of 10-year-old Jyoti, another victim of the serial killings.
Sunita, Jyoti's mother, said: "I want that they should be tortured and killed in the same way my daughter was killed. I am relieved that in one case justice has come and am hoping for the same in the other cases."
Bandana Sarkar, mother of 20-year-old Pinki Sarkar who was allegedly raped and murdered by the duo, said: "We thank god for punishing the criminals and I feel the court will support us in the other cases also."
Ghaziabad (IANS) It is a victory tinged with grief for Nithari residents Anil Haldar and his wife Dolly. The conviction yesterday of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surendra Koli for the rape and murder of their 14-year-old daughter Rimpa more than four years ago has restored their faith in the judiciary and they are hoping the duo are given the death penalty.
Minutes after Pandher and Koli were convicted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here, the family members of the other 18 victims in Nithari demanded death for the two men. "My faith in the judiciary has increased after the ruling and we hope the court gives them death penalty," Anil Haldar, father of Rimpa Haldar, said.
"God has given us the courage to fight against these high-profile people. Finally, justice has gone in our favour and we are very happy. Now my daughter's soul will rest in peace. Both the accused should be hanged," said his wife Dolly.
The judgement has brought hope to the kin of the other victims. Ram Kishan, who also lost his child, said: "It is the victory for Nithari villagers and I will distribute sweets in the village."
