Harshita Brella: Hunt for murdered woman's husband who fled country after her body found in car boot

Harshita Brella's body was found in the boot of a car in east London with police soon launching a murder investigation following a post-mortem examination in Leicester

Police have issued a major update after the body of Harshita Brella was found in the boot of a car.

Speaking to press in Kettering today a Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said 24-year-old Harshita is suspected to have been murdered earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba who has since fled the country.

Police did not say which country they believe Lamba had fled to. More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are following up on numerous lines of inquiry, including house to house and property searches.

Chief Inspector Paul Cash said: "Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba. We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.

"We believe he has now fled the country. We are releasing an image of Pankaj Lamba with this statement."

Notinghamshire Police launched an investigation after Harshita's body was found in a car in east London. Her body was found in Brisbane Road in Ilford after officers were alerted to concerns about her welfare the day before.

A post-mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday determined Harshita had been murdered. Forensic officers investigated Harshita's home in Corby, 96 miles away from where she was found, earlier this week.

Police previously said she might have been the victim of a "targeted incident." Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), yesterday said: “First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella.

"She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way. Detectives from EMSOU and Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place."

Northamptonshire Police said they do not believe there is a wider risk to the public as a result of the incident. But they will step up extra patrols in Corby to reassure residents in the area. Northamptonshire Police has made a mandatory self-referral to the IOPC after what they described as ‘previous contact’ with Harshita. They said last night that she had likely been murdered by someone ‘known to her’ and that they believed there was no wider risk to the public.

Police confirmed Harshita was previously the victim of domestic violence and in early September was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates’ Court.

The order, which only lasted 28 days, banned the perpetrator of the violence from visiting her workplace. The person was prevented from molesting her, from threatening violence, or intimidating, harassing or pestering her, and also told not to encourage or instruct others to contact her in any way.

A neighbour previously told The Mirror how she heard an aggressive argument take place between a man and woman in Harshita's house on the same day police were contacted about the victim's welfare. Single mum Kelly Philp, 41, who lives next door to Harshita, 24, told the Mirror a female sounded scared during the row. Her bedroom shares a wall with a room in Harshita’s house, she said.

“I heard a commotion between a man and a woman and I heard banging around,” she said. "They were arguing in a different language so I couldn’t understand what was being said.

“But it sounded angry and there were raised voices and the woman sounded scared. I had a funeral to attend the day after and had my own daughter to look after so I didn’t call police - I just thought it was a relationship argument.”

Kelly believed Harshita had been living in the property for around a year and that last year 12 residents were living there. She added people "come and go" from the property.