Missed warning sign that could have saved Harshita Brella’s life

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Police are accused of missing a vital opportunity to protect Harshita Brella, a young woman found dead in the boot of a car 100 miles from her home.

Miss Brella, from Corby, Northamptonshire, was found by police officers in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of Thursday.

An international manhunt is underway for her husband Pankaj Lamba, who is suspected of killing himself “earlier this month” before fleeing the UK on Sunday. Northamptonshire Police released CCTV footage of Lamba as part of their appeal.

A police spokesman said Ms Brella was a previous victim of domestic violence and was made the subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates’ Court in early September.

The decision, which lasted only 28 days, prohibited the perpetrator of violence, whose name was not disclosed for legal reasons, from harassing him, threatening him with violence, intimidating him, harassing him, harassing him or going to his workplace. He was also warned not to encourage or order others to contact him.

Critics say the limited duration of the order may have failed to adequately protect him.

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Labor Party MP Dawn Butler told Independent Learning how Ms. Brella’s body was found moved her to tears and sent “a shiver down my spine.”

Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, a criminologist specializing in murder, domestic violence and stalking, raised concerns about court decisions such as this and argued that appropriate risk analyzes were not carried out before granting bail.

“We’re handing out a DVPO as if these people were just going to comply with these rules,” said the Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire. “The moment you issue a protection order, the risk to the victim increases; that’s what research shows.”

He added: “It’s heartbreaking that we know how these things work and yet another young woman was murdered here and brutally pushed into the back of a car.”

Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, author Under Control: Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder. He said Ms. Brella’s case bore all the hallmarks of intimate murder, but all the details remained unclear.

Labor MP Dawn Butler described the case as extremely saddening and said: “Reading about how Harshita was found brought goosebumps and tears to my eyes. My condolences to her family and loved ones.”

Northamptonshire Police contacted the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to confirm they had contact with Ms Brella before her death.

Ms Butler called for stronger action against domestic violence, calling for abuse experts to be deployed in 999 control rooms and legal advocates in every police force area. “The epidemic of domestic violence against women needs to be taken much more seriously,” he said.

“This will make a fundamental difference. “We urgently need a change in the way we look at domestic violence to protect women and save lives.”

An autopsy at Leicester Royal Infirmary revealed that Ms Harshita had been murdered.

Criminal law professor Dr. Hannah Bows said: “This is yet another devastating case of a young woman needlessly losing her life and a sad reminder that the murder of women is a frequent, almost daily occurrence in the UK.”

Deputy Director of the Center for Research on Violence and Abuse at Durham University, Dr. Bows added that Ms. Brella’s murder sheds light on the potential difficulties of using protective orders.

“While these have the potential to help reduce the risk faced by a victim of abuse, they are not magic solutions and are only good to the extent they are monitored and implemented,” he added. “As with all tools used to tackle domestic abuse, they must be part of a wider package where multiple agencies work together to protect victims and hold perpetrators to account.”

comes later Independent Earlier this year it was revealed that thousands of vulnerable women face the threat of a domestic abuser returning home and convictions for breaches of restraining orders are falling sharply.

Chief Inspector Paul Cash of Northamptonshire Police said in a statement: “I would urge anyone listening or reading this statement to please contact us if you have seen anything suspicious in the last week or have any information, no matter how small.”

Spokespeople for Northamptonshire Police have been contacted for comment.