On December 29, 2006, the quiet village of Nithari woke up to a nightmare. What started as a search for a missing girl, Payal, led to the horrifying discovery of human remains near a bungalow in Noida. As the nation watched in shock, the Nithari killings unraveled—exposing one of the most gruesome serial crimes in India. In this special Crime Beat podcast series, join Seena Antony as she delves deep into the chilling details, the investigations, and the unanswered questions that still haunt the case.

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Who killed those children?
After the Supreme Court acquitted Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher on July 31, 2025, this is the most pressing question surrounding the Nithari massacre. If not Koli and Pandher, then who is behind the murder of 19 innocent lives?

How did the remains of missing children and women end up in the compound of Pandher’s bungalow and in the nearby canal? Countless unanswered questions take us back 19 years, to a day in December. December 29, 2006 — when skulls and skeletal remains were first discovered in a drain near Moninder Singh Pandher’s bungalow in Sector 31, Noida, on the Delhi–Uttar Pradesh border.

Nearly 20 human remains, mostly of children, were found buried in that drain.
But who was Moninder Singh Pandher? Who is Surinder Koli? And who is truly responsible for the Nithari serial killings?

Let’s explore in detail in Part Two of the special Crime Beat podcast on the Nithari massacre.
I’m Seena Antony, with you.

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In a small village called Nithari, children began disappearing one after another — from a four-year-old to school and college girls — over days and months. Shockingly, no police case was registered at first. Between 2004 and 2006, at least 19 children officially went missing, though reports suggest the real number was higher. Later, the nation was stunned to learn that all of them had been brutally murdered. The case came to light only after the disappearance of a 26-year-old woman named Payal. Businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were arrested, accused of horrific crimes including cannibalism and necrophilia. On July 31, 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted both. What really happened in the Nithari serial killings? Who still keeps the grieving parents in the dark, even 19 years later? Hear part one of the Nithari case on today’s Crime Beat with me, Seena Antony.

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In this episode of Crime Beat, we revisit the haunting 2012 Soujanya murder case from Karnataka. A young college student’s brutal rape and murder shocked the state, but the culprits remain unidentified to this day. Why has justice been delayed? What really happened that night?

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A chilling tale of love, betrayal, and brutal murder — the Naina Sahni case, widely known as the Tandoor Murder Case, shocked the nation in the 1990s. In this episode of Crime Beat, we revisit the horrifying night when Congress youth leader Sushil Sharma killed his wife Naina Sahni and attempted to dispose of her body in a restaurant tandoor. How did political power and personal rage collide in this high-profile crime? What were the key twists in the investigation that ultimately brought justice? Tune in as we explore one of India’s most sensational murder cases that continues to haunt the public memory even today.

Host: Seena Antony

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In this Crime Beat episode, retired Delhi Police constable Abdun Naseer Kunju recounts how his sharp instincts helped expose the infamous 1995 Tandoor Murder Case in Delhi — the shocking killing and burning of Naina Sahni by Congress youth leader Sushil Sharma. A first-hand memory of a crime that shook the nation. Host: Seena Antony

മുപ്പതുവർഷങ്ങൾക്കു മുൻപുള്ള ജൂലൈ. കൃത്യമായി പറഞ്ഞാൽ 1995 ജൂലൈ മൂന്നിന്റെ പ്രഭാതം! രാജ്യം അതുവരെ കേൾക്കാത്ത ഒരു വാർത്തയുമായാണ് അന്ന് ഡൽഹി ഉണർന്നത്. ‘പങ്കാളിയെ വെടിവച്ചുകൊലപ്പെടുത്തി തന്തുരി അടുപ്പിലിട്ട് കത്തിച്ചു എന്നതായിരുന്നു ആ വാർത്ത. പ്രതി ഡൽഹി യൂത്ത് കോൺഗ്രസ് പ്രവർത്തകൻ സുശീൽ ശർമ. വിഐപികളുടെ വിഹാരകേന്ദ്രമായ ഡൽഹിയിലെ അശോക റോഡിലെ ഒരു റസ്റ്റോറന്റിലാണ് സംഭവം നടന്നത്. ഒരുപക്ഷേ, ആരും അറിയാതെ പോകുമായിരുന്ന ആ കൊലപാതകം ലോകം അറിയുന്നതിന് കാരണമായത് ഒരു പൊലീസുകാരനാണ്. ഡൽഹി പൊലീസിൽ കോൺസ്റ്റബിൾ ആയി ജോലി നോക്കിയിരുന്ന കൊല്ലം ഓച്ചിറ സ്വദേശി അബ്ദുൻ നസീർ കുഞ്ഞ്. അർധരാത്രി റസ്റ്റോറന്റിൽ തീ കണ്ട് ഓടിയെത്തിയവരിൽ അന്ന് കൊണാട്ട് പ്ലേസ് പൊലീസ് സ്റ്റേഷനിൽ നൈറ്റ് ഡ്യൂട്ടിയിലുണ്ടായിരുന്ന അബ്ദുൻ നസീർ കുഞ്ഞുമുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. സംഭവസ്ഥലത്ത് എത്തിയപ്പോൾ കണ്ട കാഴ്ചകളിൽ അബ്ദുൾ നസീർ കുഞ്ഞിനു തോന്നിയ ചില സംശയങ്ങളാണ് ഏറെ കോളിളക്കം സൃഷ്ടിച്ച നൈന സാഹ്നി കേസ് അഥവാ തന്തൂരി കേസ് പുറത്തെത്തിച്ചത്. 30 വർഷങ്ങൾക്കു മുൻപ് നേരിട്ടു കണ്ട സംഭവം ഇപ്പോഴും അതുപോലെയുണ്ട് അബ്ദുൻ നസീർ കുഞ്ഞിന്റെ മനസ്സിൽ. ദാരുണമായ കൊലപാതകം നടന്ന ആ രാത്രി മനോരമ ഓൺലൈൻ ക്രൈംബീറ്റ് പോഡ്കാസ്റ്റിൽ ഓർത്തെടുക്കുകയാണ് അബ്ദുൻ നസീർ കുഞ്ഞ്.

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In this shocking Crime Beat episode, we delve into the chilling story of Bavin and Aneesha from Kerala — lovers who secretly became parents twice, only to murder both newborns to keep their relationship hidden. The gruesome details came to light when Bavin, under the influence of alcohol, walked into a police station at midnight carrying the remains of their babies in a bag. What followed was an unbelievable revelation of secret pregnancies, covert births, and cold-blooded infanticide that left even seasoned investigators stunned. Listen in as we unpack this disturbing crime that shook Kerala to its core.

Credits

Bavin: Justin Jose

Anisha: Athira

Police: Hareesh Kumar

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Between 1996 and 2005, Kerala witnessed a series of tragic crimes against children that shook the state. Sebastiyan, known as Chevithiyan, was convicted of abducting, abusing, and murdering toddlers—including the widely known Sharanya case from Pozhiyoor. In this episode of Crime Beat, Retd Dysp P Raghu recalls the investigation that cracked the case and helped to put Sebastian aka Chevithiyan behind the bars.

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