Harshita Brella murder inquiry: CCTV footage released by night officers believe she was murdered

Homicide detectives investigating after a woman’s body was found in the boot of a car have released a new CCTV image of her on the night police believe she was killed.

The picture shows Harshita Brella walking in the area around Corby Boating Lake in NorthamptonshireSunday, November 10.

She is seen in the picture with her husband Pankaj Lamba, who has been described by police as the main suspect in the murder investigation.

A international manhunt to find the 23-year-old continues. Detectives suspect he fled the country.

Police launched their investigation after Ms Brella’s body was found in the boot of a silver Vauxhall Corsa parked in Ilford, east. Londonin the early hours of Thursday, November 14.

Detectives from Northamptonshire Police believe the 24-year-old was killed on the night of Sunday, November 10, and that her body was taken to east London in the car, which was left parked on Brisbane Road.

Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell of the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) said: “Our inquiries established that Pankaj and Harshita were in the lake area by boat on Sunday evening and as part of our investigation into course, we have conducted searches in the surroundings.

“We know it’s a busy area of town and there will have been a lot of passing traffic.

“As such we are appealing to anyone who was in Corby between 6pm and 9pm on Sunday November 10, particularly in the area around Corby Boating Lake, Cottingham Road and Westcott Way.

“If you have any dash cam footage or other information that could be relevant to the investigation, however small, please contact us as soon as possible.

“Any information you have can help us piece together exactly what happened to Harshita and bring her killer to justice.”

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It comes after the police released new CCTV footage de Lamba on Tuesday, showing him in East London.

Ms Brella was previously a victim of domestic violence and was the subject of a domestic violence protection order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates’ Court in September.

Northamptonshire Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because of previous contact with Ms Brella.

A neighbor of the couple, from Corby, said she heard two rows of whistles, including one in which a woman “sounded scared”, days before Ms Brella’s body was found.

Sonia Dabas, Ms Brella’s sister, said the family “thought something was wrong” until November 13, after her phone was switched off for two days, and asked people to file a complaint.

Her family said Ms Brella and Lamba entered into an arranged marriage, with a legal wedding held in August 2023, before the couple moved to the UK in April this year.

At an inquest on Wednesday, Senior Coroner Anne Pember said that the preliminary cause of death was given as manual strangulationpending further test results.

The coroner adjourned the inquest into Ms Brella’s death until May 21 next year.