He Was Sadarama To Locals: After Nithari Case Acquittal, Surendra Koli Was Living Under Fake Name in Haridwar

Surendra Koli was living as Sadarama and working in a security firm before opening the tea shop days earlier. Two identity cards were found in his bag. Police are probing stress, a phone argument and other circumstances surrounding his death.

After Nithari case, Surendra Koli was living under fake name Sadarama

Surendra Koli, whose name remained associated with the most intriguing 2006 Nithari case for nearly two decades, was found dead inside a tea shop in Haridwar's Bhupatwala area on Friday morning. Police said the preliminary evidence indicated suicide, but the exact circumstances surrounding his death are still being investigated.

What initially appeared to be the death of a man known locally as Sadarama soon turned into a major police investigation when officers discovered an Aadhaar card identifying him as Surendra Koli.

VIDEO | Haridwar, Uttarakhand: Surendra Koli, an accused in the Nithari case, was found dead in the Bhupatwala area. Police said he allegedly died by suicide.

Koli had reportedly been living in Bhupatwala and running a tea stall for the past few days.

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According to Aaj Tak, Koli had been living in the Bhupatwala area and had started running a tea shop there only a few days before his death. Police reached the spot after receiving information about a man hanging inside the shop and took the body into custody for post-mortem examination.

Koli's body was found hanging inside the tea shop. Police informed his relatives and began investigating the circumstances of his death.

Shop owner knew him as Sadarama

The most striking part of the case is the identity under which Koli had been living in Haridwar.

According to the information shared with police by shop owner Dharmendra Kaushik, the man had introduced himself as Sadarama. Local people also knew him by that name. Kaushik said he had no idea that the person renting the tea shop was actually Surendra Koli.

Koli had reportedly come into contact with Kaushik through a mutual acquaintance. He had approached him looking for work and later took the shop on rent. During their conversations, he told Kaushik that he was suffering from diabetes.

There was apparently nothing at the time to indicate to the people around him that he was the same Surendra Koli whose name had been linked to the Nithari case.

That changed only after police searched his belongings following his death.

Two identity cards found in his bag

Police reportedly found two identity documents among Koli's belongings.

One document carried the name Sadarama, son of Shankar, resident of Almora. The other was an Aadhaar card carrying the name Surendra Koli, son of Shankar, resident of Noida Sector 31.

The Aadhaar card became the key document that helped police establish his identity.

The discovery also explained why people in the neighbourhood had known him by a different name. According to the account given to police, Koli had not disclosed his real identity to the people with whom he had recently come into contact.

Police are now trying to establish how long he had been using the name Sadarama, why he chose to keep his identity private and whether anyone in Haridwar knew about his past.

He worked as a security guard before opening tea shop

Koli had reportedly been living in Haridwar for around three months before his death.

During this period, he worked for a security company in SIDCUL. Reports also say he had been staying in or around Roshanabad before starting the tea business.

The decision to start a tea shop appears to have been very recent. According to the details provided by the shop owner, the tea stall had been operating for only around three days when Koli was found dead.

Other reports have described the stall as being on Sapt Sarovar Road near the Lal Mata Temple in the Bhupatwala area. The exact duration of his tea-selling work has varied slightly across reports, with some saying a few days and others putting the period at around three to four days.

This means Koli had only just started a new phase of his life when he died.

He had apparently moved from security work to trying to run a small tea business, while keeping his earlier identity away from the people around him.

Shop owner says Koli appeared depressed

Koli was reportedly worried about his financial situation and had been visibly upset. The circumstances in the hours and days before his death are now a major focus of the investigation. Dharmendra Kaushik told police that Koli appeared deeply troubled before his death. One of the issues reportedly troubling him was money.

According to reports, there had been a child's birthday in his family around that time. Koli allegedly did not have enough money to buy a gift for the child.

Kaushik said he gave him money, around Rs 2,000, after learning about his financial difficulties.

Phone argument also under police scanner

Financial stress was reportedly not the only issue troubling Koli.

According to the information shared with police, he had also been disturbed after an argument with someone over the phone.

The identity of the person on the other end of the call and the subject of the argument have not been established publicly so far.

Police are therefore likely to examine his recent phone records and speak to people who were in contact with him before his death.

At present, it would be premature to say that financial problems or the phone argument was the definite reason for his death.

Police have not recovered any suicide note from the tea shop, and officials have said the actual reason remains unclear.

What happened on Friday morning?

The sequence of events began when the tea shop failed to open on Friday morning. People were reportedly waiting outside the stall, but the shutter remained closed.

Kaushik noticed that the shutter appeared loose and lifted it. What he saw inside shocked him. The man he knew as Sadarama was hanging inside the shop.

Kaushik initially did not recognise him as Surendra Koli. He immediately informed the police.

According to Haridwar City Kotwali SHO Kundan Singh Rana, police received information at around 11.30 am about a person having died by suicide in the Kotwali area. Officers reached the location, examined the scene and began checking the man's identity. The initial search did not reveal an identity document, but an Aadhaar card was later found among his belongings.

The body was subsequently taken for post-mortem examination. Police also informed Koli's family members about his death.

Koli's Nithari case connection

Koli's identity immediately brought the Nithari case back into public focus. The Nithari killings came to light in Noida in 2006 after human remains were discovered near the house of businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. Koli, who worked as a domestic help for Pandher, was arrested and became one of the central figures in the investigation.

He faced cases connected to multiple alleged killings and was initially convicted in several matters. His legal battle continued for years.

However, his legal status had changed significantly before his death.

The Allahabad High Court acquitted Koli in 12 cases in 2023, and the Supreme Court subsequently dealt with the final remaining case. On November 11, 2025, a three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising then Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath allowed Koli's curative petition and set aside his conviction in the last pending case. The court directed that he be released if he was not required in another case.

That legal history is important because Koli was not facing a conviction in the Nithari cases at the time of his death.

His acquittal brought to an end the last remaining conviction against him in the Nithari-related prosecutions.

From prison release to a new life in Haridwar

Koli's death comes less than a year after his release from prison following the Supreme Court's final acquittal.

After spending years in custody and remaining at the centre of one of India's most widely followed criminal cases, he had moved to Haridwar and apparently attempted to establish a new life.

There, he worked in security and later tried his hand at running a tea shop.

His death has raised questions not only about the circumstances of his final days but also about the life he was leading after his release.

Police investigating every possible angle

Police have not publicly established a single confirmed reason for the death.

The preliminary investigation points towards suicide. Police are examining statements from Kaushik and others who had interacted with Koli, checking the information surrounding his employment and recent business venture and looking into his financial difficulties and reported phone argument.

(With inputs from agencies)