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New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Surendra Koli, nicknamed the “Butcher of Nithari”, was on Tuesday freed by the Supreme Court, which accepted his curative petition, formally ending the saga of a botched investigation and media trial based on cannibalism theories. A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath released the suspect, resident of Nithari village in Noida. With this, Koli has emerged clean despite facing 19 criminal cases along with his now acquitted employer Mohinder Singh Pandher. Reading out the bench’s judgment, Justice Vikram Nath said, “The curative petition is allowed.” Koli, 53, will now be out of jail as he has already been acquitted in all other cases. The 2006 Nithari massacre caught public attention when the case of missing minors from the village was linked to the discovery of human remains in the drain outside Pandher’s house in Noida Sector-31, which became infamous as the “House of Horrors”. The investigation into the case, which included allegations of kidnapping of children and young women and horrific claims of rape, cannibalism and organ theft, ended in 19 counts, some of which resulted in Koli being convicted and sentenced to death. Domestic worker Koli and her employer Mohinder Singh Pandher were initially convicted in the case. A total of 19 cases were registered against the two in 2007. The CBI had filed closure reports in three cases due to insufficient evidence. Of the remaining 16 cases, Koli was found not guilty in three and in one case his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. In 2015, the Allahabad High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment due to excessive delay in the decision on his mercy petition. In 2023, the court acquitted Koli and co-accused Pandher, saying the prosecution did not prove their guilt “beyond reasonable doubt” and describing the investigation as “bad”. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court gave a new lease of life to Koli by freeing him from any criminal taint and suspending all the sentences awarded to him in other cases. The case was initially investigated by the Noida Police, but it was later handed over to the CBI, which registered a total of 19 FIRs related to the alleged serial murder. –IANS RCH/DPB