Harshita Brella’s family issues tribute amid manhunt for husband

London, Nov 22 (PTI) The Delhi-based family of Harshita Brella on Friday issued a heartfelt tribute to the 24-year-old found murdered in the boot of a car in London, triggering an international manhunt for her 23-year-old husband Pankaj Lamba as the prime suspect.
     Earlier, father Satbir Brella, mother Sudesh Kumari, and sister Sonia Dabas called for justice for Harshita after it emerged she had been the subject of a domestic violence court order to protect her from Lamba.
     Northamptonshire Police released an additional CCTV image of her walking with her husband by a boating lake where she lived in Corby on November 10, the night they believe she was killed.
     “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 reads.
     The police launched a murder investigation into Harshita’s death after her body was found inside the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of November 14.
     “Detectives are continuing to appeal for information as they work to establish the circumstances that led to her death and bring her killer to justice,” the police said.
     Brella was the subject of a 28-day domestic violence order against Lamba, which had not been renewed at the time of her killing.
     Her local MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, Lee Barron, also raised the issue in the House of Commons this week, asking Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner if in certain circumstances domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs) should last longer than 28 days.
     DVPOs are court orders that ban a domestic violence perpetrator from returning to their home or having contact with the victim.
     Rayner said the government was committed to halving violence against women and girls as she expressed her concerns over the "horrifying set of circumstances" surrounding Harshita's murder.
     Earlier this week, an inquest into Harshita Brella's killing was opened in Northampton and adjourned until May 21, 2025, while the murder investigation remains ongoing. The provisional cause of her death was noted as "manual strangulation pending toxicology and histology" at the inquest hearing.
     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 (EMSOU).

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)