Noida’s Sector 31 is a busy hub today, but tucked amid its progress stands a deserted house that still draws uneasy whispers. The abandoned house, marked as D5, carries the chilling legacy of the Nithari killings. Moninder Singh Pandher once lived there, along with his servant Surendra Koli, who both faced accusations of heinous crimes.
For families like that of Jhabbu Lal, D5 serves as a painful reminder of injustice. In 2006, the area shook when 19 children disappeared. Investigators later discovered human remains in the backyard of the bungalow. Police sealed the house soon after, but the trauma has lingered.
Jhabbu Lal lost his ten-year-old daughter, Jyoti, in the tragedy. A cheerful girl who often helped her parents with chores near the house, Jyoti’s life ended far too soon. On a recent Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed 14 appeals that challenged Koli’s acquittal, leaving families devastated. “Whatever happened was very wrong,” Jhabbu said, his grief still raw. He and his wife now live in a small rented home, far from their old neighborhood, struggling to understand what the ruling means for their future.
The verdict has fueled doubts about the justice system. “What’s the use of these verdicts if nothing changes?” Jhabbu asked. He remembers seeing Pandher often and recalls when Koli gave him bloodstained clothes, saying they came from a chicken purchase. His anguish deepens as he wonders, “If he wasn’t guilty, why did he stay in jail all these years? Why did we run to courts for 18 years?”
Other residents hold equally haunting memories. Former resident Bhram Singh recalls how children vanished one by one without raising suspicion. When the truth surfaced, fear gripped the area. Although new markets and apartments now surround the bungalow, people still avoid passing by. “If you cross that house late at night, you can hear the sound of girls screaming,” Singh said, reflecting the chilling shadow it casts.
Shyam Singh, who moved near D5 in 2015, says it is better to remember good deeds than cling to horrors, yet he admits the fear lingers. For Jhabbu, the past remains inescapable. “There used to be protests. Candle marches. Journalists everywhere. Where are they now?” he asked, noting how the once-relentless fight for justice has faded into silence.
The Nithari killings shocked India, exposing gaps in child safety and urban policing. The disappearance of 19 children jolted the nation and forced demands for stronger laws and better protection. Yet for the families left behind, reforms mean little when justice feels denied.
The Supreme Court’s ruling left many questioning whether justice will ever come. For survivors like Jhabbu Lal, the pain of loss combines with the weight of unfulfilled promises. The abandoned house in Sector 31 stands not just as a ruin but as a monument to grief, injustice, and the desperate hope that one day the truth will prevail.
