Nepal nationals suspected in murder of ex-IPS officer’s wife in Hyderabad

Retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan Ray’s wife, Tanuja Ranjan, was allegedly murdered by the family’s domestic help from Nepal and her associates in Hyderabad’s Prashasan Nagar. Police suspect robbery as the motive and have launched a multi-agency manhunt to nab the accused.

Hyderabad: In a gruesome incident that shattered the sense of security among citizens, retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan Ray’s wife was found murdered allegedly by their hired domestic help from Nepal and her associates, here on Friday.

The incident in the posh and high-security Prashasan Nagar sent shock waves, given the manner in which 55-year-old Tanuja Ranjan was found dead on the first floor of the building, with her hands tied and suspected to have been smothered. While her retired DGP husband, Vinay Ranjan Ray, was away in Bengaluru at the time of the incident, the victim’s children were sleeping on the upper floors of the house.

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According to the police, the key suspect Kalpana, a Nepal national hired as domestic help by the family eight months ago, facilitated the entry of her associates into the house, and they together carried out the crime and fled with valuables.

The incident came to light in the morning and on being alerted, the Jubilee Hills police reached the spot. The police top brass, including DGP CV Anand and Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, too rushed to the spot and several special teams were constituted to investigate the murder.

Sajjanar said the incident occurred at around 2 am and preliminary probe points to the involvement of a gang from Nepal. “We have gathered crucial clues and teams are fanning out to nab the suspects,” he said.

The police suspect four persons entered the house with Kalpana’s help late on Thursday night and took Tanuja Ranjan into a room, tied her hands and gagged her, leading to death due to suffocation. Afterwards, they collected valuables from the house and escaped. Sajjanar said CCTV footage from the area was being examined, while police were still ascertaining the items missing from the house.

The city police teams are being assisted by the special operations teams of Cyberabad, Malkajgiri and Future City commissionerates. According to police sources, Task Force teams of Hyderabad police and the special parties of the Detective Department fanned out across the State and neighbouring States to gather information and apprehend those involved in the murder at the house of the former IPS officer.

Assistance was also sought from the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the paramilitary force guarding the Indo-Nepal border, which was reportedly alerted.

Highly placed sources said the teams have identified the suspects, who could have dispersed and headed to different locations after committing the crime. Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Sajjanar appealed to citizens to remain alert regarding Nepal nationals working as housemaids, security guards and drivers in the city. He said families should be cautious while hiring domestic helps and avoid employing them without proper verification.