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Nithari killings: Is police apathy to be blamed?
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Nithari killings: CBI probe marred with loopholes
Poonam Agarwal
Saturday, December 29, 2007, (Noida)
The murder of innocent children in Nithari shocked the entire country last year. Bones and skulls of children who were missing for nearly a year and a half were found from a drain close to a bungalow in Nithari on the outskirts of Delhi.
The owner of the bungalow, Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were arrested.
Now, a year later and after many charge sheets filed, the investigations are going nowhere and the victim's families have not got any relief yet as the case has taken many legal twists and turns.
Of the 19 cases in all, the CBI has so far filed 11 charge sheets but had charged Pandher with lighter charges. But later, the court, not completely relying on the CBI's investigation framed charges of rape and murder against Pandher in four cases.
A year back, Nandlal was shocked to learn that somewhere in this heap dug out from behind this house of horrors lay the remains of his 23-year-old daughter Payal.
He was also the man who lodged the first FIR for the Nithari killings.
When his statement was first recorded in court, he said, "I was present when the police first quizzed Moninder Singh Pandher. He had taken the police to an area beside his house from where the big knife was recovered by the police".
But days later, he did a U-turn saying his earlier statements were given under pressure. "I was not a witness to the recovery of the saw. I gave the earlier statements based on my lawyer's guidelines," said Nandlal.
But his lawyer denies the charge. A case of perjury has been filed against Nandlal. Families of other victims allege Nandlal has been bought over.
Biswas, a victim's father said, "Money is the reason why Nandlal has changed statement."
If Nandlal's U-turn came as a shocker, the way the CBI went about the case is even more surprising.
Light charges
The agency charged Pandher only with immoral trafficking though his help Surinder Koli was booked for rape and murder.
CBI says there was no concrete evidence to nail Pandher. What the agency tried to overlook was Pandher's confession given to the police in which he said, "When I could not get a girl at night, I could not sleep. I would then ask Surinder to make some arrangement. He would lure any boy or girl he found near the house. This way, I raped several small girls and boys in the last year or year and a half, for which I am sorry. Whoever I raped, I got (them) killed by Surinder so that the secret was never out. Please forgive me."
Concealing evidence
Lawyers for the victims say the CBI did not produce this confession till the court asked for it, based on a petition filed by a social organisation.
Later, the court ordered that rape and murder charges be filed against Pandher in four cases. Normally, a statement given to the police isn't admissible as evidence in court but lawyers say it can be, if backed by other relevant things.
Khaled Khan, Lawyer for the victims said, "According to the section 27 of the Evidence Act, this statement is admissible in the court because it has been corroborated by the recovery and the statements given by the victims."
Few witnesses
What's far more surprising is that the CBI presented bills of hotels and petrol pumps outside Delhi to proved Pandher wasn't present in Nithari when the murders took place.
But the agency never produced witnesses in court who could corroborate this.
The big question now is, though Pandher has been charged with rape and murder in four cases, what happens to the remaining 15 cases?
Experts say the public prosecutor should have assisted in getting statements of the victims and families of victims recorded in court. But in this case, the families filed a petition in court seeking permission to testify.
The next hearing in the case is expected in January and charges of rape and murder could be slapped on Pandher in another case.
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