Noida, Oct. 8 -- A sense of helplessness and resignation has settled once again over Nithari village in Noida. Nearly two decades after the grisly murders of children shocked the nation, families of the victims say they have lost faith in justice - as the Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on convict Surendra Koli and observed that it would be a "travesty of justice" to uphold his conviction, suggesting an imminent acquittal in the final pending case.

"We have lost all hope in the justice of the Nithari killings," said a 63-year-old father whose 10-year-old daughter's remains were among those recovered from the now-infamous D-5 bungalow in Sector 31, owned by businessman Moninder Singh Pandher.

"My daughter went missing while...