Man admits to killing, assaulting Indian children
Pastor Dale Morgan
Man admits to killing, assaulting Indian children*
POSTED: 0434 GMT (1234 HKT), March 2, 2007
NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- An Indian servant confessed to killing and
sexually assaulting at least 19 children and women and stuffing their
dismembered remains into a storm drain outside the house where he
worked, officials said.
The killings in a well-to-do section of Noida, a New Delhi suburb,
prompted outrage after relatives of the victims said police had ignored
their complaints as up to 38 people went missing over two years. Nearly
all victims were from poor families working as servants in the area.
The suspect, Surender Koli, was a servant at a house in Noida. He and
the home's owner were arrested in December as police began unearthing
the remains of 19 children and women from storm drains abutting the
property.
Koli confessed to the killings during a closed court hearing on
Thursday, R.K. Gaur, a spokesman for India's Central Bureau of
Investigation, said Friday. Gaur refused to provide additional details,
saying they were "between the state and the accused."
However, an Indian official with knowledge of the investigation said
Koli confessed to sexually assaulting victims before killing them. Koli
also admitted sexually abusing some of the corpses before disposing
them, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the
confession is supposed to remain sealed until the trial.
The official said Koli confessed to killing all 19 people whose remains
have been found, but could not say whether he provided any information
about the other 19 missing women and children.
The official said Koli did not mention his employer, Moninder Singh
Pandher, in his confession.
On Friday, a court ordered Pandher held for another 14 days, the Press
Trust of India news agency reported.
Koli had earlier confessed to police that he killed 10 children and five
women. But unlike Thursday's confession, which was made under oath
before a judge, the earlier confession is not admissible in court under
Indian law.
If convicted of the killings, Koli could face the death penalty.
News of the killings first emerged in late December, and police quickly
took credit for nabbing the suspects.
But residents of the area said the police had routinely ignored reports
of missing people and had been forced to start investigating when the
smell from the drains became overpowering and human remains were spotted
flowing in them.
Six police officers have since been dismissed and three senior officers
were suspended for mishandling the case, which has been taken over by
India's Central Bureau of Investigation.