Published Oct 26, 2026 | 8:22 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 26, 2026 | 8:22 PM
Tanuja Ranjan was killed while trying to prevent the robbery.
Synopsis: Tanuja Ranjan was killed when she tried to prevent the robbery. Hyderabad police said the gang targeted residences where their accomplices were employed. An SIT, along with Jubilee Hills police, has tracked the alleged criminals for the past five months. Two suspects remain at large.
Nearly six months after a retired IPS officer’s wife was found dead at her Jubilee Hills home, Hyderabad police on Monday, 26 October, arrested four people, including the family’s domestic worker, bringing the total arrests in the case to six.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to track Nepal-based gangs, and Jubilee Hills police jointly picked up the accused near Nampally Railway Station. Police seized ₹51,130 in cash from their possession.
Tanuja Ranjan, wife of retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan Ray, was found dead in her bedroom at Prashasan Nagar on 8 May. The house was ransacked, and 225 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables were missing.
Reconstructing the crime on Monday, 26 October, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said the domestic worker, Dharma Tiruwa alias Kalpana, a 26-year-old Nepali national, joined the household in June 2025 on a monthly salary of about ₹20,000.
She reportedly stayed in touch with Bikas, a Nepali national based in Pune, who repeatedly asked about her employers and the valuables in the house. He then proposed a robbery and promised her a share of the loot.
During a visit to Pune in April to see her ailing father, Dharma reportedly met the other gang members. The members reached Hyderabad by different routes, and on 7 May, two of them met Dharma near her workplace to inspect the house and finalise a robbery plan.
On 8 May, Ranjan Ray was away in Bengaluru. That evening, the group gathered near the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station and split into two teams, one for the robbery and the other to keep watch.
Police said Dharma opened the door on the intervening night of May 7 and 8. Tanuja woke up during the break-in and was allegedly gagged and restrained, causing her death by suffocation. The gang broke open cupboards, took the valuables and left through the rear gate.
They later travelled towards Kazipet and divided the loot into nine equal shares in an isolated hilly area. The members then split into smaller groups and headed for Nepal. En route, they sold the valuable at various places.
Related: Retired IPS officer’s wife killed in Hyderabad
Jubilee Hills police, the Task Force and the Central Crime Station initially studied CCTV footage and call records to trace the suspects. On 19 May, a dedicated SIT was constituted to probe property offences committed by Nepal-based gangs across Telangana’s three police commissionerates.
On 22 May, Task Force teams arrested Sunil Bahadur Aauji alias Sunil Pariyar and an alleged receiver, Dilip Bahadur Mijar alias Sonar, and recovered 26 grams of stolen gold.
The SIT then searched Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Patna, Delhi, Lucknow and Uttarakhand. It spent over five months gathering intelligence, aided by local informers, in remote areas near the India-Nepal border.
Besides Dharma, those arrested on Monday were Ganesh BK (31), Chandra Bahadur Tamang alias Shanker Chandra Lama (44) and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi (37). Two other accused were still absconding. Tamang and Shahi also have earlier cases registered against them in other states, police said.
Sajjanar said the gang had also planned similar offences in Bengaluru and Delhi using domestic workers, and the arrests helped prevent them.
He urged residents to verify the identity documents, references and work history of domestic workers, cooks and watchmen, and to be wary of unusual questions about jewellery, cash or CCTV cameras.
Suspicious activity can be reported on 112 or the Hyderabad City Police WhatsApp helpline, 94906 16555.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
