The man accused of killing his wife in Corby was seen working at a shop in India, as ITV News Correspondent Stacey Foster reports
The man charged with the murder and rape of Harshita Brella is believed to have been running a snack and vegetable store in India, ITV News understands.
Pankaj Lamba, Ms Brella’s husband, was running a store near Delhi, not far from his childhood home. Locals told us he kept his face covered, and he was with a woman and a young child.
ITV News has been told by his former teacher, Mr Sunil Saini, that he last saw Pankaj there in April when he closed the store, which is now an egg shop, because the police were closing in.
He said: “He contacted me again in February or March. Before leaving town, he came to meet me and mentioned that he had some items from a restaurant.
“He said, ‘If you’re planning to open a restaurant, you can use them – or if not, you can try to sell them.’ This conversation took place around the 10th or 11th of April this year.”
Detectives believe 24-year-old Harshita Brella was killed by Lamba in Corby, Northamptonshire, on the evening of 10 November 2024.
Ms Brella was then found dead in a car four days later in Ilford, east London – almost 100 miles away.
An international manhunt was launched for Lamba after the discovery of Ms Brella’s body, with police saying at the time that he was thought to have fled the country.
He was charged in his absence for his wife’s murder and is also accused of two counts of rape, sexual assault, and controlling or coercive behaviour.
Her family believe that if officers had acted properly, their daughter would still be alive, and her killer would not still be on the run.
Harshita’s father, Satbir Singh, told ITV News: “We’re nowhere close to getting justice. There’s no trace of him, and the Delhi Police aren’t sharing any updates. We’re completely in the dark.”
Remembering her late daughter, Sudesh Kumari said: “I just can’t forget her. I can’t sleep at night. She comes to my mind, but I don’t even see her in my dreams. I miss her day and night.”
“If guests came, she’d make tea and hot and cold food, everything. I miss her every moment.
“We didn’t celebrate Diwali this year. I couldn’t celebrate without my daughter. I miss her deeply; I miss her so much.”
In a press conference last week, the Indian Government said it had no update on the case because of the legal issues involved.
A spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry said: “I do not have an update on the Harshita Brella case, but I understand this is a matter that has legal implications and that the matter is subjudice.
“I’ll give you an update on this matter as to where exactly we stand in terms of the co-operation between India and the UK, as to what we have to do to take this matter forward from the point of egalities and judicial proceedings.”
Sonia Dabas, Harshita’s sister, has called for the case to be passed to India’s federal investigation agency.
She said: “Indian police are not doing anything, they are in silent mode, they are sleeping. They don’t know where is Pankaj.”
ITV News has spent the last year working with Harshita’s family to establish where Pankaj Lamba might be hiding.
Our Head of News Operations for South Asia, Sanjay Jha, in Delhi, has been following leads and interviewing key contacts and discovered this latest breakthrough.
Sanjay said: “To our utter shock, he was not very far from Delhi, only probably an hour drive, close to his relative’s house.
“The neighbouring shopkeepers told me he would never come out in the sunlight, he was always wearing a mask. He was always in dim light. So obviously, he had in the back of his mind that somebody was watching him.”
A report by the Independent Office for Police Complaints is due to be released later this month, investigating alleged failings in how Northamptonshire Police handled complaints made by Ms Brella about Pankaj Lamba in the weeks leading up to her death.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Johnny Campbell, said: “As we remember Harshita Brella on the first anniversary of her death, our thoughts very much remain with her family and all who loved her.
“Northamptonshire Police has provided family liaison support to Harshita’s family throughout the past year and in July, I was privileged to travel to India to meet with family members and return the personal belongings of their much loved and much missed daughter and sister.
“Twelve months ago, on November 14, 2024, a murder investigation was launched after 24-year-old Harshita was found dead in a vehicle in the Ilford area of London after being reported missing from her home in Corby, Northamptonshire. In March 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service decided that 24-year-old Pankaj Lamba, Harshita’s husband, should be charged with murder in relation to her death.
“This is an exceptionally complex case and with criminal proceedings now active in the UK, we are unable to go into detail about the investigation at this time. However, we can confirm that the Indian authorities have been made aware through the appropriate channels of the charging decision.
“The investigation is very much ongoing and we remain as determined as ever to bring the person responsible for Harshita’s death to justice.
“Once again, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Harshita’s family, and we will continue to offer support as the investigation and our work to secure justice for Harshita and her family continues.”
ITV News has contacted Delhi Police for comment.
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