Chilling CCTV released of Harshita Brella and prime murder suspect husband on night she was killed
21 November 2024, 20:31
Police have released a chilling CCTV image of Harshita Brella and her murder suspect husband Pankaj Lamba on the day she is thought to have been killed.
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Ms Brella, 24, was found stuffed into a car boot in east London in the early hours of November 14.
Officers believe she was killed in Corby, the east Midlands town where she and Lamba lived, on November 10.
A manhunt has been launched for Lamba, 23, but he is still at large and is thought to have fled the country.
The image police released was of Ms Brella and Lamba together at a boating lake in Corby.
The coupled married in an arranged ceremony in March this year, and Ms Brella only moved to the UK in April from her home in Delhi.
But by September, Ms Brella reported her husband for alleged domestic violence, was made the subject of a domestic violence protection order and rehoused in a refuge. Lamba was ordered not to harass her. The order expired in October.
Police are now reviewing how the domestic violence probe was handled.
She last called her family in India in November 10, the day she is thought to have died. Her sister said the family thought something was off when they weren't able to contact her for two days.
They rang the police, who tracked down found her body in Ilford, east London.
Ms Brella's parents have said they want justice for their daughter.
Officers have pored through CCTV and are appealing for any more footage that could help them piece together what happened to Ms Brella.
Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit said: “Our inquiries have established that Pankaj and Harshita were in the area of the boating lake on Sunday evening, and as part of our ongoing investigation we have carried out searches in the surrounding area.
“We know that it’s a busy part of the town and there will have been a lot of passing traffic. As such, we’re appealing to anyone who was in Corby between 6pm and 9pm on Sunday, November 10, specifically in the area around the Corby Boating Lake, Cottingham Road and Westcott Way.
“If you have any dashcam footage, or other information that may be relevant to the investigation, however small, please contact us as soon as possible.
“Any information you have may help us piece together exactly what happened to Harshita and help bring her killer to justice.”
