Indian police hunting a murder suspect after his wife’s body was found in a car boot in the UK have offered a reward to help find him.
Pankaj Lamba is accused of killing Harshita Brella on 10 November last year at their home in Corby, Northamptonshire.
Ms Brella, 24, was found dead four days later inside a Vauxhall Corsa in Ilford, east London. A post-mortem examination found she died from strangulation.
Lamba, 23, was charged with her murder, rape and other offences in March. He is the target of an international manhunt as Northamptonshire Police believe he fled the country and is now in India.
Police in Delhi are offering 50,000 rupees (£438) for information leading to Lamba’s arrest.
The force issued a “look out circular”, which is used to prevent individuals from fleeing India, against Lamba, after reports of him being seen in the capital.
CCTV captured pictures of Lamba wearing a clinical mask and withdrawing 4.3 lakh rupees (£3,760) from a bank on 4 March, according to an investigating officer who did not want to be named.
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The source added Lamba had also “withdrawn 21,000 rupees (£184) from another bank on the same day”, but there was no CCTV available of this withdrawal.
Delhi police later declared him a “proclaimed offender” on 1 May, which means he is accused of a serious crime and evading arrest.
The force also requested information and assistance in the investigation into Ms Brella’s murder from Northamptonshire Police.
The source said in his status report that Lamba’s mobile phone was recovered from a rickshaw driver on 22 March.
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The driver told the police that he doesn’t remember whose phone it was, adding that he found it in his vehicle and kept it. He later started using Lamba’s device when his phone stopped working.
Lamba’s sister, Uma Lamba, and two other relatives were questioned by police and have denied knowledge of his whereabouts.
They were all granted “anticipatory bail” by the Delhi High Court, which means they will be released on bail in case they are arrested.
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Lamba’s father, Darshan Singh, and his mother, Sunil Devi, were arrested on 19 March on charges of cruelty and causing death under India’s dowry death laws. Both were sent to judicial custody and filed pleas seeking bail.
Police say Lamba had arrived in Bombay on 11 November before taking a flight to Delhi a day later.
Lamba and Ms Brella had an arranged marriage and moved to the UK in April 2024, just seven months before she was killed.
