Death sentences for India murder

The Pandher case has raised questions about police handling

An Indian businessman and his servant have been sentenced to death for murdering a girl in a case dubbed "the house of horrors".

Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant Surinder Koli had been convicted of murdering 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar.

The pair were arrested in January 2007 after body parts were found near their home in Noida, a Delhi suburb. The case may involve 19 deaths.

The crime shocked the country, with many accusing the police of negligence.

Local residents said police failed to act over the abductions and murders because many of those reported missing came from poor families.

'Landmark judgement'

The court said the crime called for death sentences as it was the "rarest of rare" cases.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had asked for the death sentence only for Surinder Koli.

The grisly crime shook the country

But the court said as both Pandher and Koli were guilty of the same crime, they deserved a similar punishment.

Koli had been found guilty of kidnapping, murder and attempted rape while Pandher was convicted of murder. They were tried by a single judge sitting in a special CBI court.

Prosecution lawyer Khalid Khan said the convictions were a "landmark judgement. It's a victory for justice".

Residents say as many as 40 children disappeared in the area over two years before the crime came to light in December 2006.

The killings horrified people in India and the businessman's Noida home was dubbed the "house of horrors". The remains of the children were found hidden in bags.

The CBI took over the case amid mounting accusations that local police had done nothing.

The accused were questioned by CBI officials and were also put through lie detector tests.

Six Noida policemen were sacked for alleged incompetence. Three senior officers were suspended.

The case provoked widespread public anger and the authorities found it difficult to find lawyers willing to defend the two men.

In January 2007 the pair were assaulted by a mob - including lawyers - outside a court in Ghaziabad, near Delhi.