Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 15 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty awarded to Surinder Singh Koli in the Nithari killings case.

Upholding Koli’s death sentence, the court said, “Killings by Koli are horrifying and barbaric.”

The apex court, however, kept pending the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal against the acquittal of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher in the case.

Earlier, the apex court criticized the CBI for making excuses to get an adjournment on a petition by Koli.

The investigating agency invited the apex court’s criticism, when it said it was intimated about its impleading in the case in November 2010.

Koli was awarded the fourth death sentence in the Nithari killings on December 22 last year.

Earlier on September 28 last year, Koli was awarded death sentence by a Special CBI court in Ghaziabad on charges of rape and murder of a nine-year -old girl in the Nithari killings.

The CBI court also awarded death sentence to Koli on May 12 last year for murdering seven-year-old Aarti in Noida’s Nithari village.

In a previous order on the Nithari killings, the special CBI court had on February 12, 2010, awarded the death sentence to Moninder Singh Pandher and Koli for their roles in the Rampa Haldar murder case.

Both Pandher and Koli are accused of killing and disposing off the bodies of 19 children and a young woman between 2005 and 2006. (ANI)