The family of 24-year-old Harshita Brella have suggested that the case may involve a dowry dispute, reported news agency ANI. The 24-year-old Indian woman from Delhi living with her husband in the UK, was discovered dead with her body hidden in the trunk of a car.
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Sonia Brella, Harshita’s older sister, told ANI on Friday that Pankaj Lamba’s family had demanded additional dowry from them, despite the fact that they had already provided gold and money during the wedding. Sonia alleged that she suspected her sister was murdered for dowry.
"Harshita married Pankaj Lamba on March 22 this year. We gave them a significant dowry, but Pankaj was still dissatisfied and continued demanding more from us," Sonia said.
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Harshita’s body was discovered on November 14 in a car that had been driven from Corby to East London, where it was left parked in Brisbane Road, Ilford.
Police are now seeking Pankaj Lamba for questioning in connection with her death.
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{{/usCountry}}Police are now seeking Pankaj Lamba for questioning in connection with her death.
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{{/usCountry}}"We received a call from a local police station on November 15, informing us that Harshita had been murdered. We were shocked, and when we tried calling both Harshita and Pankaj, their phones were switched off. When we informed Pankaj’s family, they didn’t seem concerned. That made us think Pankaj must have told his family about the murder," Sonia told ANI.
Sonia also recounted an incident on August 29 when Harshita filed a complaint against Pankaj for abuse, after which Pankaj’s family came to their house demanding dowry. Sonia explained that her father had to sell property to meet their demands, and by February, they had fulfilled the dowry request.
Sonia suspects that Pankaj came back to India and is on the run.
“I am sure that Pankaj has fled from the UK to India and is hiding somewhere here. The UK police should also caution Indian police that they must arrest Pankaj if he is here,” she said.