On run for five months, Nepali woman nabbed in IPS officer’s wife murder case
In Short
Four accused arrested after five months
Share :
Sajjanar produces the accused, including Kalpana, who was arrested in Nepal, before the media
Hyderabad: Taking a serious note of the murder of a retired IPS officer’s wife, the Hyderabad police formed a separate human intelligence network, deployed teams in Nepal and finally arrested a 26-year-old Nepalese woman identified as a key accused in the case.
Five months after the murder within the Jubilee Hills police limits, Hyderabad police arrested four accused on Monday for killing Tajuna, wife of retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan Ray. Posing as tourists, a Hyderabad police team spent five months in Nepal tracking the movements of the key accused and gathering leads.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said four persons, including a key woman accused, were arrested in connection with the murder. They were identified as Dharma Tiruwa alias Kalpana, 26, a domestic maid from Bolo, Ward No. 2, Chakune, Surkhet, Nepal; Ganesh BK, 31, from Dailekh, Nepal; Chandra Bahadur Tamang, 44, a cook from Dolakha district, Nepal; and Ganesh Bahadur Shahi, 37, a watchman from Kailali, Nepal.
“To track down the suspects, the SIT conducted extensive field operations across multiple states, visiting Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Patna, Delhi, Lucknow and Uttarakhand.
“The team travelled to the India-Nepal borders and camped there for over five months, carrying out intensive field inquiries in remote and hilly terrains to gather crucial intelligence about the accused. The team developed reliable local informers across various regions to obtain real-time intelligence regarding their hideouts, travel routes, employment and local contacts,” Sajjanar said. The Commissioner said seamless coordination among ground teams, technical analysts and local informers ultimately enabled the police to track the suspects’ movements and apprehend them.
In June 2025, Kalpana migrated to Hyderabad through her relative, Jogi, and was employed as a domestic maid at a residence in Jubilee Hills on a monthly salary of approximately Rs 20,000. During her employment, she remained in close contact with Bikas, a Nepalese national based in Pune. Bikas persistently enquired about her employer, household assets and valuables before proposing a planned robbery in exchange for a share of the booty.
“On May 7, the accused entered the residence of a retired IPS officer and went to the bedroom where the victim, Tajuna, was sleeping. When she suddenly woke up, Sujan Shahi gagged and assaulted her, while Ganesh BK restrained her and tied her limbs, causing her death by suffocation. The accused ransacked the almirahs and looted gold jewellery and other valuables.
“After committing the crime, the accused escaped through the rear gate, proceeded to Nampally Railway Station and joined Group-II. The entire gang travelled towards Kazipet, retreated to isolated hilly terrain and divided the stolen property into nine equal shares. To evade police detection, they split into three smaller groups, fled to Nepal and disposed of the stolen valuables at various locations there,” Sajjanar said.
