New Delhi: A Delhi district court deferred the hearing of the bail application filed by the parents of Pankaj Lamba, accused of murdering his wife, Harshita Brella, in London, to April 1. On March 19, Darshan Singh and Sunil Devi, Lamba’s parents, were sent to police custody and later to judicial custody.
Jai Dev Solanki, counsel for Brella’s family, appeared before additional sessions judge Gurmohina Kaur and told TOI, “A petition related to the case was scheduled for hearing in Delhi High Court today and the investigating officer in the case was to appear. Hence, the court scheduled the hearing of the matter for April 1.”
Meanwhile, Delhi High Court, hearing a petition filed by Sonia Dabas, sister of Brella, on Wednesday, asked the central govt to file a status report in the matter and keep the court informed of new developments. Radhika Bishwajit Dubey, central govt standing counsel, representing the external affairs ministry and Delhi Police, assured the court that steps were being taken to trace the absconding accused and a fresh report would be filed.
In Feb, the court directed the external affairs ministry to appoint a nodal officer to liaise with the petitioner and investigation agencies in the UK. The next hearing in the high court will be on April 1.
The report filed by police in the Dwarka courts confirmed that the accused remained untraced. The mobile phone used by the perpetrator is yet to be recovered.
Lamba’s sister Uma, his uncle Satendra and aunt Lalita have applied for anticipatory bail in the same court. They are named in the FIR filed by Satbir Singh. A non-bailable warrant was issued against Uma, who is absconding.
