Hyderabad police nab four more of Nepal-based gang in retired IPS officer’s wife murder case

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police arrested four members of a Nepal-based gang, including a woman, allegedly involved in the murder of Tanuja Ranjan, wife of retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan and the robbery of valuables from their residence in Prashasan Nagar, Jubilee Hills, in May.

According to Police the arrested are Dharma Tiruwa alias Kalpana, a former maid at the victim's house who had worked there for 10 months, Ganesh B.K., Chandra Bahadur Tamang and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi. All four are natives of Nepal. Police seized ₹51,130 in cash and other material from them.

Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said a Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed on May 19, searched several States and used technical surveillance and local informers to track the suspects. The team searched Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Patna, Delhi, Lucknow and Uttarakhand, and camped along the India-Nepal border for over five months. Two other suspects are still absconding.

The murder took place on the intervening night of May 7 and 8. The victim's daughter lodged a complaint on May 8 after finding her mother dead in the bedroom, her hands tied and a cloth stuffed into her mouth. The house had been ransacked, and about 225 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables were missing, police said.

According to police, Dharma passed on details about the household’s valuables to the gang and helped its members get inside while the family was away. She had come to Hyderabad in June 2025 through her relative Jogi and earned about ₹20,000 a month. A Pune-based Nepali contact drew her into the plot, and when her employer left for Bengaluru on May 4, she alerted the gang.

Police further said the seven accused split into two teams. After a recce on May 7, a three-member team entered the house that night after Dharma opened the door, while three others kept watch near Nampally station. The victim woke up, was gagged and assaulted, and her limbs were tied, causing death by suffocation.

The gang then fled to a hilly area near Kazipet, split the loot into nine equal shares and escaped to Nepal in three groups, where the valuables were disposed of.

Earlier, in May, police had arrested prime suspect Sunil Bahadur Aauji alias Sunil Pariyar and alleged receiver Dilip Bahadur Mijar alias Sonar within 15 days of the incident, and recovered 26 grams of the stolen gold.

The SIT also executed five pending non-bailable warrants against absconding Nepali nationals and arrested Jeevan Chand alias Jiban, a habitual offender linked to eight property offences in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Surat and the Mumbai region. Tamang and Shahi face pending warrants in earlier cases in Delhi and Karnataka.

Sajjanar said Nepali nationals have been named as offenders in many cases. The same gang had planned a major theft in Bengaluru and Gurgaon, he said, and was planning similar crimes in Bengaluru and Delhi by placing domestic workers in homes.

Police urged residents to verify the identity and employment history of domestic workers and other household staff before hiring them.