‘Is everything okay, beta?’: How an unread WhatsApp text in London ended in tragedy for Delhi family

It was extremely unlike his younger daughter, nicknamed Sweety, who spoke to her family daily since moving to London on April 30, after her marriage to Pankaj Lamba, 23. After a 40-minute video call on November 10 — while she was making pakoras, palak puri and aloo sabzi at her London house — Harshita seemed to have gone missing.

On November 11, WiFi calls to her number failed to connect. On November 12, Satbir’s calls to Pankaj went unanswered. On November 13, when his text to Harshita went unanswered and he got no help to contact her from Pankaj’s NCR-based family, Satbir turned to a distant acquaintance based in Manchester in the UK.

On November 14, the acquaintance, who barely spoke English, walked to the nearest police station and, as luck would have it, bumped into a Sikh cop who helped him.

On November 15, Satbir finally had his answer.

Harshita Brella’s father Satbir and elder sister Sonia Dabas at their Delhi home. (Photo: Farhan Sayeed Masoodi)

Fumbling with his words and wiping his tears, he told The Indian Express, “At 11.30 am (on November 15), I got a call from a Delhi Police officer who said my daughter had been murdered. He asked me some questions for verification and disconnected the call.”

A day earlier, on November 14, Harshita’s body had been found in the boot of her husband’s car at Brisbane Road in East London. A post-mortem examination at the Leicester Royal Infirmary on November 15 listed strangulation as the preliminary cause of death. The UK Police have since launched a manhunt for Pankaj, who they suspect fled the country after murdering his wife.

At the two-storey Brella house in Palam Colony’s Sadh Nagar in New Delhi, surrounded by relatives and locals, Satbir and his elder daughter Sonia Dabas wept as they spoke to The Indian Express. Outside the drawing room, Satbir’s wife Sudesh Kumari lay covered from head to toe on a charpoy. “Only a mother knows the pain of losing a daughter. I just want two things now — that her murderer should be hanged and her body should be brought home,” says Sudesh.

Sonia says all was not well with Harshita’s married life in London. Harshita, who had completed her graduation from Delhi University’s Sri Venkateswara College and her BEd from Maharshi Dayanand University, was sent Pankaj’s marriage proposal through a matrimonial broker. “She wanted to take her time to get married. Since Pankaj lived abroad, we thought it was a good match,” says Satbir.

The couple had a court marriage in August 2023 to start her visa proceedings. Pankaj went to the UK in October 2023, while she stayed back. On March 22 this year, they had a wedding in New Delhi and the couple left for London on April 30. In London, Harshita immediately got a job in the administration department of a firm, says Satbir.

On August 29, a stranger allegedly spotted a battered Harshita fleeing the house as Pankaj chased her on the street. Reports in UK-based newspapers mention that a domestic violence complaint was filed against Pankaj and Harshita was given police protection. Confirming this, her family says they had asked her to return to Delhi. “But she told us she had to stay there to see the complaint through,” Satbir says.

Sonia says they also discovered Pankaj “was not a company employee but a security guard in the UK”.

She says, “After the domestic violence complaint, he lost that job too. He had to work as a delivery boy to make ends meet. Harshita was extremely scared, despite the police protection and living separately from Pankaj due to the ongoing case. She would video call our mother even when she went to the bathroom.”

A tearful Sonia says Pankaj had reached out to Harshita despite the case. “They were talking to each other. That day (on November 10), during the call, she told us she was waiting for Pankaj’s arrival (at 9 pm London time). She was making dinner for them (during the video call). When our calls did not get connected the next day, we found it unusual but assumed she was busy at work. We started panicking when we could not reach her even on November 12,” says Sonia.

She alleges that Pankaj had been planning to kill her sister since he had borrowed around Rs 4 lakh from her and also kept track of her finances. “He never gave her a single pound (to spend in the UK). He gave her a card but he would badger her with questions if she ever swiped it. Out of fear, she never used it to even buy a burger. Pankaj also had a problem with Harshita talking to me,” Sonia claims.

Accusing Pankaj’s family of demanding money in mid-September, despite Harshita’s domestic violence complaint, Satbir says he suspects their involvement in his daughter’s murder. “I am sure they are aware of what Pankaj did to my daughter. We think Pankaj left London on November 12 and reached India via Mumbai. Forget everything, they have not reached out to us or come home,” an angry Satbir alleges.

The Indian Express reached out to Pankaj’s family, including his sister Uma and uncle Satender. His phone was answered by a woman, who did not identify herself. When asked about Pankaj’s whereabouts, before disconnecting the call, she said she did not know anything about the case.

Satbir has now given a written complaint to the local police station, informing them about Harshita’s death. The Delhi Police confirmed receiving the complaint.

Demanding justice for her sister’s death, a devastated Sonia adds, “Harshita was extremely excited about her new life — more so, because her birthday is on Christmas and London is extremely beautiful during Christmas.”