Families of accused say legal battle took toll on them too

When Surinder Koli was arrested after discovery of human remains of at least 19 victims in December 2006, his wife Shanti and their young daughter were still in his ancestral village of Mangrukhal in Almora district of Uttarakhand - a small hamlet with around 55 houses.

- Peeyush Khandelwal

Since his arrest, Koli has never stepped out of prison. Life, however, has gone on for his family with Shanti, who gave birth to a boy after her husband's incarceration, moving to Gurugram to fend for her family.

Narayan Singh, a former zila panchayat member from Almora, said, "His wife left home in 2014 with the two children, and is working in a small factory in Gurugram. But she is staying in hiding to avoid being linked to Koli after the Nithari case."