Sector 36 Movie: The Nithari Killings

If you were mindblown by Vikrant Massey’s performance, you will love him even more after watching him in Sector 36. The movie, now streaming on Netflix, is based on real life crimes known as the Nithari killings of 2006.

Directed by Aditya Nimbalkar, this crime thriller keeps audiences engaged. The movie also features a dynamic performance by Deepak Dobriyal as a corrupt officer, and it is currently ranked among Netflix’s top ten movies in India. A major part of the movie aims to show the real side of the incidents that happened during the Nithari killings.

In the movie, Vikrant Massey plays a house help named Prem Singh who kidnaps, rapes, and dismembers children from the nearby village. Akash Khurana plays his boss, Balbir Singh Bassi, and it is known that he has a role in the crimes, but the film does not accuse him of the same acts as Prem. In real life, the boss (Moninder) and the house help (koli) were both arrested in December 2006 after human body parts were found near their residence in Nithari. Nithari, a village in Noida, primarily occupied by migrant workers from West Bengal, Bihar, and other places, found itself at the center of tragedy in 2006.

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Between 2005 and 2006, a number of cases were filed by residents of Nithari of missing of their children. However, local authorities dismissed most of their complaints considering their socio economic backgrounds. Villagers asked for help from some local politician and with his help, they succeeded in approaching police officials to take some further investigation. As Pandher and Koli were arrested during the interrogation, Koli accepted his crime and described all the details of how he would bring children and women to their house, sexually assault them, murder them, and cut them into pieces. Once Koli confessed, the media named the case “Nithari Killings” and it became India’s most talked serial murder investigation.

Many cases were filed against Pandher and Koli. They have gone through brain mapping, polygraph, and narco tests in the real course of events wherein Koli gave a clean chit to his employer Pandher by taking all the blame for sexual assault, rapes, and dismembering children on himself. Pandher was declared depressed and a womanizer. However, in the movie Sector 36: Balbir Singh Bassi was released soon as he had good connections with senior police officials, making Prem the sole accused in the case.

In real life in 2007, CBI took charge and many cases were filed against Koli and Pandher following the evidence of human parts found in polythene bags behind their house. In 2009 both were sentenced to death by special CBI Court in rape and murder of 14 years old, one of the victims. In 2014 both filed petition appeal to the president of India which was rejected. However in Sep same year Death sentence was changed to life imprisonment due to delay in Mercy petition. CBI Special court again awarded Death sentence to Koli and Pandher in connection of Rape and Murder of 25 years old house help.

In 2023 Allahabad High court released all charges from Pandher and Koli relating to serial killing due to lack of evidence except they had only confession of the accused as per BBC report. This made Pandher free and Koli is still in jail as he has to serve life imprisonment for one of the cases. The Father of 14 years Victim has challenged high court to order death sentence to Koli.

Movie has slight different ending stating Prem getting against Moninder however, Moninder walks free due to his wealth and political connections.