The Delhi-based family of Harshita Brella, the 24-year-old found dead in a car boot in east London recently, have called for justice as the U.K. police continue to hunt for her husband as a suspect in her murder and renewed their appeal for information on Tuesday (November 19, 2024).

Northamptonshire Police released further CCTV images along with a timeline that identifies November 10 as the evening she was killed at her home in Corby, with the preliminary cause of death given as strangulation allegedly by 23-year-old Pankaj Lamba.

“Our inquiries have established that Pankaj Lamba drove a Silver Vauxhall Corsa from Corby to Ilford sometime on the morning of Monday, November 11. We suspect Harshita’s body had been placed in the boot of the vehicle by Mr. Lamba before leaving Corby. Mr. Lamba then abandoned the vehicle in Brisbane Road, Ilford and made his getaway,” said Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, Senior Investigating Officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU).

“Any information, no matter how small, may be relevant to the investigation and help us get justice for Harshita. Specialist officers continue to provide support to Harshita’s family and our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time as they try to come to terms with the tragic loss of their daughter and sister,” he said.

In an interview with the BBC this week, Brella’s mother Sudesh Kumari, father Sabir Brella and sister Sonia Dabas spoke through tears about losing Harshita. Northamptonshire Police had earlier launched an international manhunt for Pankaj Lamba, whom they suspect of murdering his wife earlier this month at her home in Corby before driving her body to London some 145 km away and fleeing the country after abandoning the car.

“I want my son-in-law to be brought to justice and I want my daughter’s body brought home,” Satbir Brella told the BBC in Delhi.

He described his daughter as a simple and serious young woman who wanted to be a teacher. She had married Lamba after an arranged match last year and moved to the U.K. in April. According to Ms. Dabas, her sister worked in a warehouse and Mr. Lamba was a student in London.

“She struggled a lot because of her husband,” said Ms. Dabas, adding that she had asked her sister to “quit and come to India”.

“She was a part of me and I was a part of her. I now feel like I can’t do anything in life without her,” she said.

The family says they had last spoken to Harshita over the phone on November 10, when she told them she had made dinner and was waiting for Mr. Lamba to come home. Her phone was then switched off for the next two days and by November 13 they were worried for her safety and asked people they knew to file a complaint. Northamptonshire Police was contacted then regarding concerns for Harshita’s welfare, which then led to the discovery of her body and the launch of a murder investigation.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said Chief Inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Mr. Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford (east London) by car. We believe he has now fled the country… More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house-to-house, property searches, CCTV and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition),” he said.

According to the family, Harshita’s husband had complained about her failing to make him food on time and said that she was talking to her mother too much. At the end of August, she had phoned her father in India to say she had run away because her husband was violent. The police have since confirmed that Harshita had been the subject of a domestic abuse order, which imposes restrictions on the accused against approaching or threatening the victim.

Her father told the BBC the family hopes her body can be brought home to India so “her soul can get peace and then maybe we will too”.

Meanwhile, the police are continuing to appeal for any information that will help “piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita”.

New Delhi:

On the morning of November 11, police in East London’s Ilford found a body inside the boot of a silver Vauxhall Corsa parked on Brisbane Road. The body was of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, an Indian woman who was born in Delhi and moved to the United Kingdom in April this year after marrying Pankaj Lamba in August last year. Days earlier, she had disappeared from her home in Northamptonshire. A post-mortem examination of the body revealed that she had been strangled.

According to the police, Harshita had likely been murdered by her husband, Pankaj, 23, who allegedly fled the country shortly after committing the crime. Harshita’s body, concealed in the car’s boot, had been transported 145 kilometres south to Ilford before being abandoned.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said Northampton Police.

READ | UK Cops Launch Hunt For Indian-Origin Husband Of Woman Found Murdered In Car

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford (east London) by car. We believe he has now fled the country… More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house-to-house, property searches, CCTV and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition),” the statement added.

Harshita was last heard from on the evening of November 10, when she told her family she was preparing dinner and awaiting her husband’s return. Concern grew when her phone remained off for two days, prompting her family to contact Northamptonshire Police on November 13. Officers visiting her home on Skegness Walk found no trace of her, prompting an investigation.

The next day, in the early hours of November 14, her body was discovered in Ilford. By then, Pankaj had disappeared, evading authorities and sparking an international manhunt.

READ | Family Of Indian-Origin Woman Found Dead In Car Boot In UK Call For Justice

The murder investigation revealed Harshita had endured a history of domestic violence. In September, she was granted a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) against her husband following incidents of abuse. However, despite legal measures, the threat remained.

Neighbours reported hearing arguments from the couple’s home in the days before her death. One recalled a particularly intense confrontation in which a woman “sounded scared.” 

Harshita’s family, based in Delhi, spoke of their anguish in media interviews. Her father, Satbir Brella, described her as a simple, determined young woman with aspirations of becoming a teacher. After marrying Pankaj in an arranged match, she moved to the UK in April 2023. According to Harshita’s sister Sonia Dabas, she worked in a warehouse and Pankaj was a student in London.

 “I want my son-in-law to be brought to justice and I want my daughter’s body brought home,” said Satbir Brella, Harshita’s father, as quoted by the BBC. 

“She was a part of me and I was a part of her. I now feel like I can’t do anything in life without her,” said Sonia, adding that Harshita had previously fled her home after being assaulted by Pankaj but returned, hoping to salvage the marriage.

According to the family, Pankaj had complained about Harshita speaking too often to her mother or not preparing meals on time. In August, Harshita called her father to say she had run away due to Pankaj’s violent behaviour.

CCTV images released by the police show the silver Vauxhall Corsa, which investigators believe was used to transport Harshita’s body. However, Pankaj’s whereabouts remain unknown. Police have appealed to the public for any information about sightings of Pankaj or suspicious activity in Corby and Ilford around the time of the murder.