Hyderabad, 26 October (H.S.): Hyderabad city police have arrested four Nepalese nationals in connection with the murder of Tanuja Ranjan, wife of retired IPS officer Ray Vinay Ranjan, at their residence in Jubilee Hills in May, Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Dharma Tiruwa alias Kalpana alias Bhimla Bhishwakarma (26), Ganesh B.K. alias Ganesh Bishwakarma (31), Chandra Bahadur Tamang alias Ranjeet Thapa (44) and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi (37). All four are natives of Nepal and were apprehended near Nampally Railway Station following an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Jubilee Hills police.

According to police, the murder took place at Prashasan Nagar on the intervening night of May 7 and 8. The victim's daughter lodged a complaint the following day, stating that her mother had been found dead in her bedroom with her hands tied and a cloth stuffed into her mouth. The room had been ransacked, wardrobes were broken open and valuables were missing.

Police said the domestic help, Dharma, had gone missing after the incident and her mobile phone was switched off. Investigators alleged that the accused had entered the house with a common intention, smothered the victim and fled with 225 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables.

Jubilee Hills police, in coordination with Task Force and Central Crime Station teams, examined CCTV footage and analysed call detail records to trace the suspects. Search operations were subsequently conducted in several parts of the country.

On May 22, Task Force personnel arrested an accused, Sunil Bahadur Aauji alias Sunil Pariyar, and an alleged receiver of stolen property, Dilip Bahadur Mijar alias Sonar. Police recovered 26 grams of the stolen property from them.

A dedicated SIT was constituted on May 19 to investigate property offences allegedly involving Nepalese gangs across Telangana's three police commissionerates. The team comprised an inspector, two sub-inspectors and 16 other personnel. It operated under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath and was led by Inspector G.S. Daniel Shanti Kumar of the Hyderabad Police IT Cell.

After sustained surveillance and tracking of the suspects across states, the SIT arrested the four accused on Monday. Police also seized incriminating material and Rs. 51,130 in cash from their possession.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar