Pandher, Koli beaten up in Ghaziabad court

Ghaziabad, Jan 25 (UNI) Prime accused in the Nithari serial killings Moninder Singh Pandher and Surendra Koli were today beaten up by lawyers and the public in the premises of a CBI court here where they were produced by the agency.

Pandher, in his fifties, sustained severe injuries and lost consciousness after the attack by lawyers and members of the public who were enraged over the grisly killings at his Noida residence.

As both were being taken to the lockup after being producer in court, a group of lawyers caught hold of Pandher and repeatedly punched him on his face and rained blows on him. Kohli was also assaulted.

Police personnel escorting them had a tough time controlling the angry crowd. Both the accused were rushed to a hospital.

Defending the lawyers, Ghaziabad Bar Association head Nahar Singh Yadav held the media responsible for the incident.

''The media is responsible for the incident...,'' he claimed.

The CBI, which had taken over the custody of both the accused on January 11, produced them in court to seek their fresh remand. It had registered 19 cases against them.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had on December 29 recovered skulls and human remains from a drain behind Pandher's D-5, Sector 31 house in Noida, unearthing the serial killings of children and women allegedly by him and his domestic help Koli.

Several police personnel have been sacked and four suspended after criticism that they were slow to follow up on reports of missing children in Nithari for over at least two years.

UNI