Police have launched an international manhunt for the husband of a 24-year-old woman found dead in the boot of a car in Ilford.
Pankaj Lamba is suspected of murdering his wife Harshita Brella, from Corby in Northamptonshire, before dumping her body in the vehicle in Brisbane Road, Ilford.
Detectives believe he has since fled the country.
A murder investigation was launched by Northamptonshire Police and the Met after Harshita’s body was found in the car in the early hours of Thursday.
In a major update on Sunday evening, Chief Inspector Paul Cash of Northamptonshire Police revealed Lamba as the chief suspect in the murder.
He told a press conference: “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.”
Ch Insp Cash ssaid more than 60 detectives are working on the case and are following “numerous lines of inquiry”, including carrying house-to-house visits, searching properties, and searching CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” he added.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how 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.
“Harshita was a young woman in her early 20s, with her whole life ahead of her and everything to live for, and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way,” he said.
Northamptonshire Police was contacted on Wednesday by a member of the public concerned for Harshita’s welfare.
Officers went to her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, around 90 miles north of London, but got no answer.
A missing person investigation was then launched, but her body was found in the boot of a car early on Thursday.
A post-mortem carried out on Friday established she had been murdered, said the Northamptonshire Police spokesperson.
Releasing her identity late on Saturday, police said they believe she was “targeted” by someone known to her, but added they were “keeping an open mind”.
It was reported on Sunday that Harshita, who was from the north Northamptonshire town of Corby, was made the subject of a domestic violence protection order two months ago.
The Northants Telegraph reported Harshita was previously the victim of domestic violence and in early September was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates Court.
The order, which only lasted 28 days, banned the perpetrator of the violence – who was not been named by the newspaper – from visiting her workplace.
No formal charges against the same man have since been recorded by the court, the newspaper reported.
Northamptonshire Police have not directly commented on the report but has said the force has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact it had had with Harshita.
Brisbane Road, where Harshita’s body was found, is a residential street in Ilford that is around half-a-mile long.
It begins at main road Ley Street and intersects several other residential streets, before coming to a dead end at popular green space Valentines Park, which it runs alongside for 500ft.
Photos on Saturday showed a crime scene in place at the end of Brisbane Road, outside the entrance to Valentines Park. The entrance to the park had also been taped off by police.
A crime scene has reportedly been in place at a house in Sturton Walk on Crosby’s Lincoln Estate for four days.
Ch Insp Cash said that while police believe there “is no wider risk to the public”, there will be extra police patrols in Corby to reassure residents after the “shocking and distressing” incident.
Anyone with information that could help detectives bring Harshita’s killer to justice, can contact the incident room by calling 101, quoting incident number Operation Westcott.
Alternatively information can be submitted via our online public portal at www.mipp.police.uk or by call Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.
