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Harshita Brella’s mortal remains were found from the boot of a car in east London on November 14.
Images show 24-year-old Harshita Brella (L)/her husband Pankaj Lamba (R) (Source: Northamptonshire Police/Facebook)
The family of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, whose body was recovered from a car boot in east London last week has accused the victim’s husband of pre-planning the crime as he managed to flee to India just a day after the murder.
Her mortal remains were found from the boot of a car in east London on November 14. The car, which belonged to her husband Pankaj Lamba, was parked in Brisbane Road, Ilford. The postmortem report revealed that she died of strangulation.
Harshita’s father, Sabir Brella has also accused his son-in-law and his family of assaulting her daughter for dowry. Showing photos of Harshita’s childhood to a recent one where she had slap marks on her face, Sabir said “Pankaj came back to India after killing her. I request Indian agencies and the government to intervene and arrest him.”
“Pankaj used to beat her and force her to get money. Due to the regular fights, she started living separately and working in a warehouse. Despite living separately, he would handle her bank accounts. With a hope that some day things will become normal, my daughter kept fulfilling his demand, unknowingly that this would be the end,” he added.
Pankaj, a resident of Haryana’s Jhajjar and Harshita, of Delhi’s Palam, got married in March this year and moved to London.
Harshita’s maternal uncle Sandeep Ahlawat while speaking to news agency PTI said that they tried to approach the UK Embassy in Delhi to seek their help in the case but they were not allowed to enter the premises.
“It’s been over 10 days since Harshita’s death but the family still doesn’t know about any developments in the case. We don’t know when we would receive her body here in India”, Ahlawat said to the news agency.
‘Aaj phone nahi kiya, sab theek thak hai beta’ (You didn’t call today, is everything okay?) — was the last message he sent to his daughter. He said that she did not reply because she was no more then.
Her elder sister Sonia Dabas told the news agency, “We had the last video call with Harshita on November 10 when she told us that she was preparing food for Pankaj who was coming over for dinner. From the next day her phone was not reachable. We had a feeling that Pankaj had killed her by then,” she said.
“My parents are completely broken down since we got the tragic news. We have a hope from our government in India to intervene and get justice for my sister,” she added.
VIDEO | Family of Delhi-based Harshita Brella, the 24-year-old found dead in a car boot in east London recently, have called for justice as the UK police continue to hunt for her husband as a suspect in her murder and renewed their appeal for information on Tuesday.“The… pic.twitter.com/3n2o9XPLf4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 22, 2024
The victim’s sister further said that the Indian administration is not helping them. “We have proof of him coming back to India, which we have told to London police. Here no one is helping us. We have also approached our local police and filed a complaint of dowry harassment against Pankaj and her parents,” she said.
The family also issued a heartfelt tribute to the deceased. “Harshita, you left this world but you are still with us in our hearts and will always be there,” reads the family’s tribute issued via the police force. “We will never forget you till our last breath. Always stay with us. We miss you in every very moment of our life,” it added.
UK’s Northamptonshire Police has launched an international manhunt for Pankaj, 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 from their house, and fleeing the country after abandoning the car.
The police have released a series of CCTV images of Lamba, suspected of murdering his wife on November 10 in Corby before driving her body to London – some 145 kilometres away.
“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 Lamba before leaving Corby. 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
