SIT Arrests Gang In Tanuja Ranjan’s Murder Case
The accused, including a Nepalese domestic worker employed at Tanuja’s house: Reports
HYDERABAD: Special Investigation Teams (SIT) on Monday cracked the murder‑for‑gain case of former IPS officer’s wife Tanuja Ranjan, arresting four Nepal‑based gang members including prime accused Kalpana while they were trying to flee from Nampally railway station.
The accused, including a Nepalese domestic worker employed at Tanuja’s house, were arrested by a joint team of SIT and Jubilee Hills police. Cash of ₹51,000 was seized from their possession, SIT chief V.C. Sajjanar disclosed.
The arrested were identified as Dharma Tiruwa alias Kalpana alias Bhimla Bhishwakarma (26), a domestic maid from Surkhet, Nepal; Ganesh B.K. alias Ganesh Bishwakarma alias Dinesh Thapa, 33, a labourer from Dailekh, Nepal; Chandra Bahadur Tamang alias Ranjeet Thapa alias Shanker Chandra Lama alias Kancha, 44, a cook from Dolakha, Nepal; and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi, 39, a watchman from Kailali, Nepal.
Police said the gang’s modus operandi was to commit offences in Indian cities and then flee to Nepal using trains, cabs and buses. They would spend the stolen money in Nepal before returning to India to resume offences. The gang is suspected to have committed house breakings and thefts not only in Hyderabad but also in Bengaluru and Gurugram.
SIT officials tracked the gang’s movements for five months along the Indo‑Nepal border. Kalpana was detained after her son in Maharashtra was used to lure her back to India. A senior officer said multiple gangs operate in this manner across metro cities, and information is being shared with NIA, CBI and state police to prevent such offences.
During interrogation, Kalpana confessed to murdering Tanuja on the night of May 7–8 at her residence in Prashasan Nagar, Jubilee Hills. Tanuja’s daughter lodged a complaint on May 8 after finding her mother dead in the bedroom, with her hands tied and a cloth stuffed into her mouth.
Kalpana and her associates ransacked the house, broke open wardrobes and stole 225 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables. She had come to Hyderabad in June 2025 through a relative named Jogi and was employed at the residence on a monthly salary of around ₹20,000.
Police said she later came into contact with Bikas, a Nepalese national based in Pune, who sought information about her employer’s assets and proposed a robbery in return for a share of the loot. On May 7–8, Kalpana opened the door for the gang members. When Tanuja woke up, she was restrained and suffocated to death.