Harshita Brella’s parents call for justice

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 UK police continue to hunt for her husband as a suspect in her murder.

In an interview with the BBC, 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 145km 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 UK in April. According to Dabas, her sister worked in a warehouse and Lamba was a student in London.

"She struggled a lot because of her husband," said 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 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 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.

Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination revealed that she died of strangulation. Since finding Brella's body, Northamptonshire Police has released new CCTV footage as part of their investigation. The images show a silver Vauxhall Corsa, which they believe was driven by Lamba to transport her body to Ilford on the morning of 11 November.

According to the family, Brella's husband had complained about her failing to make him food on time and said that she was talking to her mother too much. In 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".

A neighbour has revealed that she heard a heated argument and a woman sounding "scared" just hours before the body of Brella was discovered.

Kelly Philp, 41, a single mum living next door to the British Indian revealed the unsettling events leading up to the tragic discovery of her body.

“I heard a commotion between a man and a woman and some banging around,” she told the Mirror. “They were arguing in a different language, so I couldn’t understand the words, but it sounded angry, and the woman sounded scared.”

Despite her concerns, Kelly didn’t call the police, explaining, “I had a funeral to attend the next day and my own daughter to look after, so I thought it was just a relationship argument.”

In the early hours of Saturday (16) morning, Kelly heard a back gate slam loudly and two men arguing, again in a foreign language.

When police later arrived, her unease grew. “My initial feeling when I saw police was that someone must have been hurt, as I already had my suspicions,” she said. “I feel really on edge now and vulnerable. I can’t get over it. I feel so sad about the loss of the lass.”

Kelly said Brella had lived there for about a year, and at times, up to 12 people had stayed in the home.

“People come and go from the property,” she added, noting that the current occupants appeared to be Eastern European.

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".

(with inputs from PTI)