Accused recced retd IPS officer’s house before murder

Hyderabad: A day before the murder of Tanuja Ranjan (62), wife of retired IPS officer Vinay Ranjan Ray, the accused allegedly conducted a recce of their house in Prashasan Nagar. Police said that the accused stole about 225 grams of gold and some cash from the house.

Analysis of CCTV footage from the retired IPS officer’s house and nearby places revealed that at around 1 am on Thursday, three men entered the park behind Ray’s house and spent a couple of hours observing the movement of people inside the house. Their associate, Kalpana, the victim’s domestic help, also joined them from the house.

On the day of the murder, the trio entered the house around 2 am through the park on Kalpana’s signal. After committing the murder, the trio, along with Kalpana, sneaked out around 3 am through the park and got into an autorickshaw after walking some distance. They later boarded the Telangana Express from Nampally railway station and travelled towards Nagpur.

Police said Kalpana had been recommended to Ray’s family by another maid. “The maid who referred Kalpana was from her neighbouring village in Nepal. She claimed she was unaware of Kalpana’s criminal background,” a police official said. Police teams also questioned some people in Lucknow, where Kalpana had earlier worked. Since Kalpana was in frequent contact with her husband, who works in Bengaluru, police suspect he may also be part of the conspiracy and have launched a manhunt to nab him.

Police teams also questioned the family’s second maid, Nagamani, who stayed in a room on the ground floor. Ray’s personal security officer, Sai Bhaskar, was not at home when the incident occurred, but reached the house in the morning after being contacted by the family.

The murder came to light after family members received multiple calls from a welder, Liyakat Khan, who was waiting outside the house to attend to a pending work. Ray’s daughter, Sunanda Ranjan, a techie, called him back. The welder told her that he had tried calling Kalpana, but her phone was switched off. Surprised, Sunanda, who was on the second floor of their three-storey house, went to the first floor and noticed that Kalpana was missing.

She went to her mother’s room and found her lying unconscious beside the bed, with her limbs tied and a piece of cloth stuffed into her mouth. The room had been ransacked, with cupboards left open. Tanuja’s four gold rings, mangalsutra and earrings were missing. Panicked, the family contacted retired IPS officer VK Singh, who lives nearby. Singh rushed to the house and shifted Tanuja to a private hospital in Jubilee Hills, where she was declared dead at 10.24 am.

Police said about 225 grams of gold and some cash were stolen. A manhunt is on to trace the accused. Tanuja’s final rites were performed on Saturday.