Supreme Court extends stay on serial killer Surinder Koli's execution till October 29

The Supreme Court on Friday extended stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari serial killer Surinder Koli till October 29.

A week ago, the Apex court had put a stay order on execution of Koli for seven days, who was to be hanged on September 12 .

Koli has been sentenced to death for the brutal killing of a 14-year-old girl. Koli, lodged in a jail in Ghaziabad, has been sentenced to death in connection with the killing of Rimpa Halder.

Koli was also given capital punishment in February 2009, September 2009, May 2010 and December 2010 for rape and murder in four different cases related to the ghastly killings.  This will be the first execution of a death sentence convict under the new NDA government.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee that Koli's mercy plea be rejected, barely a month after he had taken over as the minister. The President rejected the mercy petition on July 27, paving the way for the judicial process to commence for hanging of Koli. There are 11 cases of murder pending against Koli. CBI had filed charge sheet against him in 16 cases where he had allegedly killed children after sexually abusing them.

The Rimpa Halder case came to light in December, 2006 when a girl who went missing was found murdered later by Koli. Investigations into the case led the probe team into more gruesome murders of children and their skeletal remains were recovered from a drain adjacent to the house where Koli was working as a domestic servant in Nithari locality of Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Koli was awarded death sentence by a lower court, which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 15, 2011 for the murder of Rimpa Halder in 2005. Holding that Koli "appears to be the serial killer", the court had said "No mercy can be shown to him." A total of 16 cases were registered against Koli. His employer Moninder Singh Pandher, who was also sentenced to death in Rimpa Halder case, was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court.

Out of 16 cases filed against Koli, he has been awarded death sentence in five of them so far and others are still under trial.