Moninder Singh Pandher, one of the accused in the Noida serial killings case, is ironically enough part of the rarefied Indian elite, a product of the country's best college and schools.

Moninder, known as Goldi, literally had everything going for him. The younger son of a well to do farmer in Punjab, he was born in Lotbaddi village near Ludhiana on August 1, 1957.

Pandher showed promise as a student and his family sent him to prestigious boarding school in Simla.

It was in 1973 that after completing his schooling from Bishop Cotton School in Simla, Moninder Singh Pandher came and joined the History (Honours) class in St Stephen's College in Delhi.

Getting into the college was not difficult, as he had excelled as a student in his school.

Pandher passed out in 1977 with a third division from college, and those who do recall him say that they are too shocked to comment on their memories of a classmate who was one of them.

Moninder married within a year after he graduated - an arranged marriage – and despite reports of estrangement, the family insist that they are very much together.

Although his business, a truck transport company in Sector 26 of Chandigarh, flourished, he fell out with his elder brother who eventually took over the business.

But despite differences, Pandher according to his relatives was a family man who had a good sense of humor and made it a point to attend all family functions.

Although he was said to be a heavy drinker, in Punjab, that wasn't seen as unusual, and while it may be wearing thin, he still has some support among those who knew him.

In fact, even though his brother is not on talking terms with him, but they still had words of praise for him.

"So far we have been supporting him. In case, he fails the Narco analysis test we will not support him," said Sukhvinder Singh Pandher, Moninder's cousin, Ludhiana.

"He was a great guy. He was easy to get along with but some time back he had started drinking heavily," said Devender Babla, Councilor, Chandigarh, Moninder's friend.

Around eight or nine years ago Pandher moved to Noida, where along with a partner he started selling spares for earth moving machinery.

Once again most people there it seems were unaware of his darker side.

"He used to come out once in a while. He was very good to all of us. There was never a problem or a fight," said a guard
The slaughter of innocence in Noida has shocked the entire country, one reason for that is that the man said to be behind India's heart of darkness was a man who so easily fit into the profile of people like us.