Harshita Brella: Police investigating car boot murder inquiry launch manhunt for husband

Police have launched a manhunt for the husband of a woman whose body was found in the boot of a car.

Northamptonshire Police said they believed Pankaj Lamba killed his wife Harshita Brella in Corby earlier this month and drove her body to London before dumping the car.

Detectives said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon they thought Lamba had fled the country.

Northamptonshire Police launched a murder investigation was launched after Ms Brella's body was found in a car in Ilford in east London.

Chief Insp Paul Cash said: "Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.

"We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country."

More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house to house, property searches, CCTV and automatic number plate recognition.

Police were called on Wednesday after concerns were raised for Ms Brella's welfare.

Officers were deployed to her home address in Skegness Walk, Corby, and after getting no answer, a missing person investigation was launched. 

Neighbours in the area reported hearing screaming from Ms Brella's home.

Inquiries were made which led to the discovery of a woman’s body inside the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford area of London in the early hours of Thursday.

A forensic post-mortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday established that Ms Brella had been killed.

Police are urging anyone with information to get in touch if they saw anything suspicious in the past week in the area.

Chief Insp Cash said: "If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matterhow small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Police said there was no wider risk to the public, but they understood how shocking and distressing such an incident could be for the local community.

Neighbourhood officers will continue to provide additional patrols in Corby in the coming days for reassurance.

Anyone with information can contact the incident room by calling 101, quoting incident number Operation Westcott.

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