Servant confesses to 19 murders, necrophilia

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 yesterday.

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.

Mr Koli confessed to the killings during a closed court hearing on Thursday, said RK Gaur, a spokesman for India’s Central Bureau of Investigation.

An Indian official said Mr Koli confessed to sexually assaulting victims before killing them. Mr Koli also admitted sexually abusing some of the corpses before disposing of them.

The Press Trust of India reported that a court had ordered the home owner, Moninder Singh Pandher, held for another 14 days.