Newlywed who was murdered by her husband would still be alive today if police had not told her to stay in the UK, family says

By INDERDEEP BAINS, CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT Published: 01:12, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 01:12, 26 May 2026 A newlywed Indian woman who was murdered could still be alive now had police not advised her against leaving the UK, her devastated family has claimed. Four police officers are facing misconduct proceedings over their handling of domestic abuse allegations made by 24-year-old Harshita Brella. She had contacted Northamptonshire Police in August 2024 after she was allegedly attacked by her husband Pankaj Lamba, 23, at their home in Corby. Within weeks, Ms Brella would be dead - believed to have been strangled in Corby on November 10 that year. Her body was found in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, four days later - and a manhunt remains under way for part-time security guard Lamba, who has been charged with her murder and is believed to be on the run in India. 'She was terrified at that time and we wanted her to come back home to India where she would be safe,' Ms Brella's sister Sonia Dabas told the Daily Mail.  'But she told me the police officer said that neither she nor Pankaj could leave the country because her case was active. This is one of the worst things for us. Had she come back at that time as we all wanted, she would still be alive today. 'Instead, he was able to flee without question after her murder. He reached India without anyone stopping him.' Four police officers are facing misconduct proceedings over their handling of domestic abuse allegations made by 24-year-old Harshita Brella (pictured) She had contacted Northamptonshire Police in August 2024 after she was allegedly attacked by her husband Pankaj Lamba (pictured), 23, at their home in Corby Harshita Brella's mother Sudesh Kumari, father Satbir Singh and sister Sonia Dabas are pictured laying flowers in Corby where they believe Harshita was killed The mother of two added: 'She was a very innocent and naive girl, living in a new country. She believed the advice she was given.' Ms Brella's devastated father Satbir Singh Brella, who lives near Delhi, added that his daughter, who had arrived in Britain in April 2024 after marrying in India, appeared 'broken' after police placed her in a women's refuge alone. 'She was completely broken, I told her many times, "Child, come home now... there's no reason to stay". 'But she believed she was not allowed to leave,' Mr Brella said. 'If the police had not said that to her, we would have booked the ticket and brought her home to India right away. There was nothing else stopping us.' Northamptonshire Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) - a mandatory step due to its officers' previous contact with Ms Brella. The IOPC concluded that four officers should face misconduct proceedings over their handling of the young woman's claims of domestic abuse. 'It is our view the officers may potentially have breached police standards of professional behaviour,' the police watchdog said last November. The IOPC concluded that two detective constables had a case to answer for gross misconduct over their investigation into Ms Brella's claims. A sergeant and chief inspector also have a misconduct case to answer over their supervision and review of the case. Northamptonshire Police has said those proceedings are under way in relation to four officers. The police watchdog said Ms Brella contacted Northamptonshire Police on August 29, 2024, alleging domestic abuse by Lamba, who was in Britain on a student visa studying management. He was arrested on September 3 and released on bail, with conditions not to contact his wife, and issued with a domestic violence protection order. The victim's family have flown to England to meet MPs and Northamptonshire Police in their fight to bring Ms Brella's killer to justice. 'My sister had been given the wrong advice many times. We thought the UK police were the best in the world. We feel let down on all sides,' Ms Dabas added. A spokesman for the force said: 'Northamptonshire Police is liaising with the IOPC with regard to this allegation. 'The IOPC have previously conducted an independent inquiry into police contact with Harshita Brella and her husband Pankaj Lamba, prior to Harshita's death in November 2024.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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