The sister of a woman found murdered in a car boot has slammed police in the UK for failing to arrest the suspected killer – even though they know where he is.
Harshita Brella, 24, was discovered in a silver Vauxhall Corsa in Ilford, east London last November, and police have named her husband Pankaj Lamba, 23 as the prime suspect.
It has since emerged that Lamba fled to India three days before the discovery of her body, flying to the country from Heathrow to Mumbai on an Air India flight. He then caught a domestic flight to New Delhi where his family live, but police have failed to trace him.
The couple lived in Corby, Northants, where the murder is believed to have taken place before Harshita’s body was driven to London and dumped. The investigation is being led by Northamptonshire Police.
Sonia Dabas, Harshita’s sister, told : ‘There has been no real effort or urgency by British police to find Lamba. They know he is in India, but they have not come here to find him, question his family or liaise with police in India to act on their behalf.
‘Northants police have not been telling us anything and their communication with us has been appalling, they have just left us in the dark. We had a call from them last month and all they said was that they could not share any details with us because this is a live investigation.’
Sonia, who lives in New Delhi, added: ‘We believe that Lamba is hiding with family and even have proof that he contacted them after the murder telling them he was coming to India. But police have not acted on this information, and this is adding to our heartache.
‘My beautiful sister was murdered in the cruellest way possible but police in the UK don’t seem to be that bothered.’
Ms Dabas also slammed the lack of communication between Northants Police and their counterparts in India.
An Indian police source told that while they had received a message from UK police informing them that Harshita has been murdered they have not received any formal notices instructing them to find Lamba.
The source added: ‘The crime took place in the UK not India, so we can only act if we receive an arrest warrant for Lamba or some kind of official notification. Until that time we can’t properly investigate this matter.
‘But we suspect he’s in India and it’s up to the police in the UK to accelerate things so that we can do something about finding him.’
Following Harshita’s murder it emerged that she had been a victim of domestic violence and was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) in the months before her death.
The couple had a traditional arranged marriage last March in India and then moved to the UK a month later, settling in Corby.
Lamba was on a one-year student visa and was studying International Business Management at Hertfordshire University while Harshita was entitled to live in the UK on the grounds of being his wife.
Ms Dabas said: ‘Harshita was very excited about her new life in the UK and had big dreams about the future.
‘But he became very controlling and violent once they were in the UK. He would take her money, didn’t want her talking to people and just made her work all the time. Her dream quickly turned into a nightmare. This was a callous, planned murder and I don’t understand why he hasn’t been caught.’
A GoFundMe page has been launched by the family to enable them to travel to the UK, meet detectives leading the investigation, hire lawyers and establish a fund in memory of Harshita.
Ms Dabas wrote on the page: ‘We have no family in the UK and are desperately trying to navigate the unimaginable. The grief, the shock, the legal battles, the agonising wait for answers, and the logistics of being thousands of miles away.
‘The fund will also help cover these unexpected costs as we fight for justice for Harshita and answers about the stalled investigation.’
The GoFundMe page has been started by British lawyer Amrit S Mann OBE who told : ‘The investigation has been frustratingly slow with authorities offering little information or progress. There has been no decisive action from authorities in the UK or India.’
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell of Northants Police said in a statement issued to : ‘Our investigation into Harshita’s death continues at pace and our detectives are following numerous lines of enquiry in order to bring her killer to justice.
‘Maintaining the integrity of our investigation and securing justice for Harshita is our number one priority and as a result of that, there are certain aspects of this case that we are unable to discuss at this time.
‘We hope to be able to release more information in the future but for now, doing everything we can to bring Harshita’s killer to justice has to come before anything else.’
He added: ‘Our Family Liaison Officers are in regular contact with Harshita’s family, and we continue to offer our support to them at this extremely difficult time.’