A CBI court in Ghaziabad sentenced Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli to death in the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in Noida. The case came into limelight following disappearance of  women and minor girls and after police discovered skulls and skeletal remains of several people including children from the drain outside Pandher’s residence.

Pronouncing the quantum of sentence, the court observed that the case falls under the ‘rarest of the rare’ category. Pinki Sarkar was abducted and killed in 2006.

CBI special judge Pawan Tiwari held Pandher and Koli guilty of murder, attempted rape and destruction of evidence on July 22

Koli abducted Pinki from outside Pandher’s residence when she was returning home from work, and raped and killed her. And then he beheaded the victim and threw the head and her garments in the drain behind the residence. The prosecution also charged Koli with tampering of evidence. An FIR was lodged in the case after Pinki’s parents identified her clothes. Her identity was later established through DNA profiling.

Koli is facing death sentence in 7 of the 16 cases filed against him that CBI is investigating  This is the eighth case in Nithari killing which was registered by the CBI under sections 302, 376, 364, 201 and 120 (B) of the IPC on December 29, 2006.