Days after the body of 24-year-old Harshita Brela, an Indian woman from Delhi living with her husband in the UK, was found hidden in the trunk of a car, her family has pointed to a dowry angle in the case.
Harshita Brela married Pankaj Lamba – who has been missing since her murder – on March 22 this year. Now, Harshita’s elder sister Sonia Brela suspects that she was murdered for dowry, even though she had given gold and money to the Lamba family during their marriage.
“The family had given a lot of dowry to Pankaj but still he was not happy, he kept demanding dowry from us,” he told ANI.
An investigation by Northamptonshire Police reveals that Harshita Brela was murdered on 10 November. That same night, she was seen walking with her husband along a sailing lake in Corby where she lived.
According to police, Harshita Brela’s body was taken by car from Corby to East London, about 145 kilometers away, and was found parked with her body in Brisbane Road, Ilford on November 14. The car reportedly belonged to her husband.
Earlier, her father Sabir Brela had also alleged that Lamba and her family used to harass him for dowry. She said, “Pankaj used to beat her and force her to take money. Due to regular fights, she started living separately and working in a warehouse. Despite living separately, he used to manage her bank accounts.”
Although she kept giving him money “with the hope that someday things would go back to normal”, her father said, “she didn’t know this would be the end.”
“On August 29, she had filed a complaint against Pankaj when he had beaten her. After this, her family members came to our house here and started demanding dowry again, due to which my father decided to fulfill their demand. We sold some of the property and were able to meet the demand by February. After getting the money in hand, we were going to meet their demand,” said Sonia Brela.
Harshita was the subject of a 28-day domestic violence order against Brela Lamba, which had not been renewed at the time of her murder.
Her sister claimed, “She kept us informed about every moment. The case was closed on October 30 when Pankaj paid the fine, but Harshita was not informed about it.”
Recalling her last video call with Harshita, her sister said, “Our last video call with Harshita was on November 10 when she told us that she was cooking for Pankaj who was coming for dinner. Was coming.”
He said, “Her phone was not available from the next day. We thought that by then Pankaj had killed her.”
Even though the police are searching for Pankaj Lamba and have released several CCTV photographs of him, his family has claimed that he fled to India a day after the brutal murder.
Sonia Brela said, “We have evidence of his coming back to India, about which we have told the London Police. No one here is helping us. We have also contacted our local police and Pankaj and his mother “A complaint of dowry harassment has been filed against the father.” ,
He said that Harshita Brela’s body could reach India in a week or two.
His sister also alleged that Lamba’s family knew his whereabouts and knew about the murder: “When I called Pankaj’s mother about this news, she calmly replied that at least My sister was returning. They said that their son is not known. But, on the other hand, they are not even trying to trace him and this behavior raises suspicion.”
Earlier this week, an inquest into the murder of Harshita Brela was launched in Northampton and adjourned until May 21, 2025, while the murder investigation continues. The inquest hearing stated her provisional cause of death was “manual strangulation pending toxicology and histology”.
