4 min readNew DelhiDec 4, 2024 01:38 PM IST
First published on: Dec 4, 2024 at 03:14 AM IST
Around 12.45 pm on Tuesday, a crowd stood outside a two-storey house in Palam Colony’s Sadh Nagar, watching as an ambulance wound through the lane and came to a halt. A wooden coffin was carefully unloaded from the vehicle by seven people and carried to the verandah, where women held each other, crying. The body of Harshita Brella was then lifted out and placed on a wooden ladder.
Supported by her sisters and relatives, Harshita’s mother Sudesh Kumari was the first to look at her daughter. Caressing her face, she sobbed: “Mere jigar ka tukda, meri Sweety,” (A piece of my heart, my Sweety). Harshita was fondly called Sweety by her family.
Seeing her younger sister, a grief-stricken Sonia Dabas said, “She was so innocent and childlike, she didn’t fight with anyone.”
On November 14, Harshita, 24, was found dead in the boot of her husband’s car at Brisbane Road in East London. A post-mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary on November 15 listed strangulation as the preliminary cause of death. Northamptonshire Police, which is investigating the case, named her husband, Pankaj Lamba, the prime suspect. They claim he fled the country. The UK Police did not respond to an e-mail or queries sent by The Indian Express.
One of the wishes of the Brella family — to bring their daughter’s body back home — was fulfilled on Tuesday. When The Indian Express met them on November 21, they said they wanted to cremate her on Indian soil. The family contacted their acquaintances in London and, with help from an agency, brought her back. On Saturday night, her body was flown in from London and preserved at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital’s mortuary.
Harshita and Pankaj had a court marriage in August 2023 to start her visa proceedings. He 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. It was soon after that, her family said, that trouble started — in August, Harshita filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband. The family also found out he lied about his job. They also suspect her in-laws were involved in her murder.
“A married woman’s final rites are done at her in-laws’ house, but they have not reached out or come here even once. If they are innocent and have not done anything, what are they scared of?” questioned Sonia angrily.
“Everything of my sister’s is at her in-laws’ house — her jewellery and clothes. We did not keep anything with us,” she added.
As rituals for her sister’s final journey began and relatives started covering the body with a red chunni, Sonia objected. “Why are we even doing this and for who? That man killed her and we are not making her wear anything of that (marriage) significance.”
She stood firm and did not allow the chooda (red bangles) to be put on her sister.
Just as the body was taken to a cremation ground nearby, Sonia broke down. “I want to go with her,” she cried. Her relatives consoled her, saying her mother needed her support now.
Half an hour later, the male members of the family returned. Satbir, Harshita’s father, had cried throughout the rituals but was determined to fight for justice. “We hope the police here help us… her in-laws took so much dowry from us. I have given a written complaint to the Palam police station. I also hope the UK authorities and police catch hold of him (Pankaj) fast,” Satbir said.
Sonia, meanwhile, remembered how Harshita would tie a rakhi for her every Raksha Bandhan. “We never missed not having a brother. We were enough for each other. I was the vocal one, who would fight for her. I always protected her. I wish I could’ve done something this time… she would’ve been alive today.”
“I think of her, coming in my dreams and telling me things,” said Sonia.
“Even if it’s a dream, can she come back to me?”
Kin of Harshita Brella killed in UK mourn the loss. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) 
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