Family of ‘murdered’ Harshita Brella say ‘not sufficient was carried out to assist defend her’ as police reveal 24-year-old was strangled to demise earlier than physique was dumped within the boot of a automotive
The family of Harshita Brella have accused police of not doing enough to protect her after investigators revealed she was strangled to death before being dumped in the boot of a car.
The 24-year-old Indian citizen who was living in Northamptonshire was found in the Silver Vauxhall Corsa in east London last Thursday.
Police named her husband Pankaj Lamba as the main suspect and believe he had fled the country to India.
An international manhunt is currently underway for Ms Brella’s 23-year-old husband who is thought to have killed her in Corby on the evening of Sunday November 10.
Police believe Lamba then drove 100 miles to ditch her body in Ilford the next day.
Ms Brella had previously tried to run away from her husband, and she first went to police claiming to have been the victim of domestic violence in August.
Her sister Sonia Dabas said she feels like the police ‘did not do enough to help her or protect’ her.
She went on to describe her younger sibling as ‘very innocent, so kindhearted but just a kid’.
Ms Dabas added: ‘Our world has been turned upside down. We’re calling on the UK and Indian governments to capture him.’
Harshita Brella, 24, was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of Thursday
Pankaj Lamba, 23, walks down Jaffe Road in Ilford after allegedly dumping his wife’s body in the boot of a car
Lamba’s Silver Vauxhall Corsa on Brisbane Road. Ms Brella’s body was later found in the vehicle
She said it was an arranged marriage and Ms Brella had met him for the first time three days before moving to the UK with him.
Born in Delhi, Ms Brella moved with Lamba to the UK in the April after marrying him in August 2023.
Videos on social media of her wedding in India show her panting for breath, placing a hand on her chest, with the caption: ‘That nervousness after becoming bride.’
She had spent £300 on make-up and an elaborate wedding lehenga skirt.
Ms Brella had been ‘excited’ to move but at the end of August, she phoned her father to say she had run away from the couple’s home.
Ms Dabas recalled to the BBC: ‘[Harshita] said he was hitting her and she escaped. She ran out on the streets, he chased after her.’
The family said the police had taken Ms Brella into protective accommodation but they allege she was given no additional support or counselling.
Her sister said Ms Brella suffered a miscarriage in this time and ‘felt like police were treating her like the criminal’, according to The Guardian.
Ms Brella with her sister in a video during ornate ceremonies solemnising her marriage to Pankaj Lamba
More CCTV stills showing Lamba in Ilford after he allegedly left his wife’s body in the car
Northamptonshire Police have named her husband Pankaj Lamba, 23, as a suspect
Tragic final videos show ‘very happy’ Ms Brella, 24, on her wedding day just months before her body was found in a car boot in Ilford
A domestic violence protection order was granted but he was not charged with any offence.
Ms Dabas told The Guardian: ‘The police processes just made her feel even more scared and alone. It drove her back to Pankaj.’
On the Sunday before her body was discovered, Ms Brella told her family she was cooking for her husband and ‘seemed happy’.
But on the following Wednesday, her family became worried because they couldn’t get in contact with her and called the police.
Then on Friday morning, police called her father Satbir in Delhli to say they had discovered a body they believed to be his daughter’s.
Mr Brella wants to bring the body home to perform the traditional funeral rituals but he says that neither Northamptonshire police nor the Indian embassy have been communicative when he asked about this.
‘It is terrible for us that she is alone over there,’ he said.
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), said: ‘Our inquiries have established that Pankaj Lamba drove a Silver Vauxhall Corsa from Corby to Ilford sometime on the morning of Monday, November 11.
Forensic officers at Ms Brella’s home in Corby, Northamptonshire
Officers at murder victim Ms Brella’s home in Corby on Sunday morning
Ms Brella’s body was found 94 miles from her home in Northamptonshire
‘We suspect Harshita’s body had been placed in the boot of the vehicle by Lamba before leaving Corby. Lamba then abandoned the vehicle in Brisbane Road, Ilford and made his getaway.
‘We are continuing to appeal for information and I would urge anyone who may have seen anything suspicious or had any sightings of Pankaj Lamba in Corby, Ilford or elsewhere in the days leading up to the discovery of Harshita’s body, to contact police as soon as possible.
‘Any information, no matter how small, may be relevant to the investigation and help us get justice for Harshita.
‘A spokesperson for Northamptonshire police said: ‘This tragic case will in due course become the subject of a domestic homicide review, in which all police actions relating to it will be fully scrutinised, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.’
