Mother of Harshita Brela murder suspect defends her son

The mother of the man police suspect of murdering Harshita Brela has said she “can’t believe” he would have killed his wife.

Sunil Devi told the BBC that he had spoken to the couple on 10 November – the day police believe Harshita was strangled to death in Corby, Northamptonshire – and that they seemed “happy” .

Four days later, Harshita’s body was found in the boot of a car in East London. Ms Devi’s son, Pankaj Lamba, is the prime suspect in the murder investigation.

He was already known to police, he had been arrested on 3 September and was the subject of a domestic violence protection order.

The order, which had barred him from harassing or intimidating Harshita, expired on October 1.

“I don’t know anything but I can’t believe it,” Ms Devi told the BBC from her home in a small village in Haryana, India.

Due to the embarrassment this case has caused to her family, she hid her face during the interview.

He said that his son and daughter-in-law had sent him pictures of the food they had prepared on November 10 and that he felt they were “happy in their lives”.

But earlier this week Harshita’s family tells BBC that she fears for her life and believed that Mr Lamba was “going to kill him”.

Her family also said that Harshita had suffered a miscarriage a few weeks before her death.

He believes Mr Lamba is in India, but said the police there are not listening to him. Local police have told the BBC that British authorities have not requested them to intervene.

Ms Devi said she did not know where her son was, or whether he was even alive.

He said, “Some people even say that he has been killed. We don’t know what people are saying. I don’t understand anything. We have left it to God.”

Asked about reports that his son was hitting his wife, he said: “Only the police know what happened, what do we know? We are continents away.”

He said he didn’t know what to do, now that his only son was trapped in a murder investigation. “We are completely wiped out. We have no support left now,” he said.

He also said that he was not aware that allegations of violence and abuse had been made, as reported by Harshita and her family.

When asked by BBC, Northamptonshire Police did not respond They are in touch with authorities in India, where Mr Lamba is believed to be.

Indian police have said that they have not been able to launch an investigation because the crime took place in Britain.

Shri Lamba was living in Britain on a student visa. He and Harshita had an arranged marriage and were married in India in March before moving to the UK in April.