Inquest opens into death of woman found in car boot amid manhunt for husband

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of a woman who was found in a car boot, as a manhunt continues for her husband.
The body of Harshita Brella, 24, was discovered in a silver Vauxhall Corsa parked in Ilford in east London on Thursday.
Police said they believed her husband Pankaj Lamba had murdered her in Corby in Northamptonshire before driving to London and dumping the car, then fleeing the country.
At Northampton Coroner’s Court on Wednesday morning, coroner Anne Pember opened and adjourned the inquest until 21 May 2025.
She said Ms Brella had been killed on Sunday, November 10.
“Harshita Brella was a 24-year-old lady found deceased in a vehicle in Brisbane Road, Ilford.
“East Midlands special operations unit informed me that Harshita was murdered at her home in Corby by her husband Pankaj Lamba.”
She recorded the preliminary cause of death as manual strangulation, pending the result of further toxicology and histology tests.
A post-mortem examination carried out at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday gave the preliminary cause of death as strangulation, police said.
Police are continuing to search for 23-year-old Lamba, who moved to Corby with Ms Brella after an arranged marriage earlier this year.
Ms Brella’s mother told ITV News that her daughter was “a very sweet girl”.
“Very innocent, very simple, intelligent in her studies,” she said.
“I raised her with love, educated her, and today I’m having to see this day where my daughter has left too early.”
A neighbour told ITV News she heard two blistering rows, one involving a woman who “sounded scared”, in the days before Ms Brella’s body was discovered.
A police spokesman confirmed Ms Brella had previously been the victim of domestic violence and was made the subject of a domestic violence protection order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates’ Court in September.
A missing person’s inquiry was started on Wednesday, November 13, after police received no response to knocking on her door in Skegness Walk in Corby.
Police discovered her body the following day in Ilford.
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