NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Vijay Shankar on Friday said the Nithari killings were pre-meditated and probably committed for sadistic pleasure.

During an interaction with mediapersons here, Mr. Shankar said one of the two accused had committed most of the murders. Though he did not name the accused, it was learnt that the agency had come across evidence indicating that Surender Koli, servant of the other accused Moninder Singh, had done most of the killings.

About Moninder's involvement, Mr. Shankar said investigations were on and his role was being examined.

The CBI chief said the agency had almost unravelled the crime and was now awaiting forensic test reports that would help connect the perpetrators to the offence and establish the case in court. Describing it as an exceptional case, he said since the murders were committed over a period of about 18 months and there were no witnesses, the agency would have to depend solely on "clinching scientific evidence."

Mr. Shankar said the organ trade angle had been ruled out and the agency had sought the opinion of mental health experts to find out if any of the accused had cannibalistic tendencies. The process of segregation of the skeletal remains recovered from the drain outside Moninder's Noida residence had been completed and the bones despatched to a Hyderabad laboratory for DNA analysis.

The blood samples of relatives of the suspected victims taken by the CBI had also been sent to the Hyderabad lab for DNA profiling.

It is learnt that apart from DNA matching, the CBI may also bank on the missing persons' past medical records to identify their remains.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress in the investigations, the CBI Director thanked the forensic scientists.

He also praised the Uttar Pradesh police for providing adequate security to the accused when they were produced in the Ghaziabad court on Thursday.

While all the 19 cases registered by the Noida police pertaining to the killings have been transferred to the CBI, the agency was treating each one separately.

The agency was hopeful of filing the first charge sheet in the case well within 90 days.

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