Inquest into the death of Harshita Brella has opened
The 24-year-old’s body was found in the boot of a car
Last updated 20th Nov 2024
An inquest has been opened into the death of a woman from Corby who was found in the boot of a car.
The body of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, was found inside a vehicle in Ilford, East London, in the early hours of Thursday November 14th.
This morning, Senior Coroner for Northamptonshire, Anne Pember, opened and closed the inquest.
Ms Pember said: “it is believed she was murdered by her husband”.
Investigations are currently ongoing by the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit.
The police force says its inquiries lead officers to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.
An international manhunt is underway for Mr Lamba as he is believed to have fled the UK.
The postmortem, which took place 15 November, has found the preliminary cause of death to be manual strangulation, pending the toxicology and histology results.
The full inquest has been adjourned until 21st May 2025.