Hyderabad Police Crack Retired IPS Wife Killing, Nepali Gang Busted

Hyderabad police have cracked the case of the killing of Tanuja Ranjan, the wife of retired IPS officer R. Vinay Ranjan, with the arrest of four Nepali nationals more than five months after the crime. The breakthrough was made on Monday.

One of those held is Dharma Tiruva, alias Kalpana, a domestic help who had worked at the victim's residence. The arrests followed a long investigation that covered several states and reached the India-Nepal border.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar briefed reporters on the arrests. A special investigation team, formed to look into a spike in property crimes linked to Nepali gangs across three commissionerate areas, nabbed the four accused near Nampally railway station on Monday.

The arrested men and woman are Dharma, 26, of Surkhet district in Nepal; Ganesh BK, also called Ganesh Vishwakarma and Dinesh Thapa, 31, a labourer who lived in Pune; Chandra Bahadur Tamang, also known as Ranjit Thapa, Shankar Chandra Lama and Kancha, 44, a cook whose Indian address is in Gurugram, Haryana; and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi, 37, a watchman who had been living in Pune.

Police said two more suspects are still on the run and that search teams are working to locate them. Two other suspects had been held earlier.

According to investigators, the accused entered the Prashasan Nagar home on May 7-8, overpowered Tanuja Ranjan and strangled her. They are alleged to have escaped with about 225 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables.

The investigation found that Dharma had joined the household in June 2025 through a relative and worked as a domestic help at the Jubilee Hills house for a monthly pay of around Rs 20,000. She allegedly remained in touch with Vikas, a Nepali citizen in Pune, who repeatedly asked about her employers, the property and the valuables kept inside. He finally suggested a robbery and promised her a share of the money.

In April 2026, she went to Pune to see her ailing father, and there she is said to have connected with other gang members. On May 4, when her employer left for Bengaluru, she reportedly alerted her accomplices.

Police have said the operation was carefully planned, with reconnaissance, division of roles and a coordinated escape route.