Harshita Brella ‘told family she believed husband will kill her’

Harshita’s family think Mr Lamba is in India but said police there were “not listening” to them. Local police have told the BBC that UK authorities have not requested for them to intervene.

Clutching a framed photo of his daughter, Satbir Brella, 53, sobbed in the family’s sparsely furnished living room in Delhi as he begged for justice.

“I used to say to her, when I die I want you to perform my final rites,” he said in an interview with BBC. “I had no idea that I would have to do hers.”

The family also said Harshita had a miscarriage in the weeks before her death.

Because the alleged crime was committed in the UK, Delhi Police say they are unable to conduct their own investigation. Without a complaint in India, there is very little that can be done.

Northamptonshire Police said its investigation “continues at pace” and it is “following numerous lines of enquiry”, but did not confirm whether it had been in contact with authorities in India.

Assistant Chief Constable Emma James added: “Maintaining the integrity of our investigation and securing justice for Harshita is our number one priority and as a result of that, there are certain aspects of this case that we are unable to comment on at the moment.”

Both Mr Brella and Harshita’s sister, Sonia Dabas, said they had been told that Mr Lamba had hit his wife but alleged that the full scale did not become clear until she called her father crying on 29 August.