close
close

Raany Rao’s fresh plea in case of gold smuggling after a delay in the lower court

Raany Rao’s fresh plea in case of gold smuggling after a delay in the lower court

On Saturday, actor Kannada, Ranya Rao, filed a bail in the session court, one day after the bail was rejected by a lower court in the case of gold smuggling. It is expected that the court of session will hear the petition on Monday.

The Special Court for Economic Crime has refused the bail for actor Kannada Friday, saying that the accusations against her are serious. Judge Vishwanath C Gowdar accepted the prosecutor’s argument that Ranya should remain in judicial arrest. She also requested a bail for the magistrate’s court for the first time, but her request was rejected.

Ranya was arrested on March 3 at the KEMPIGOWDA International Airport in Bengaluru, because she would have assumed Attempt to smuggle 14.8 kilograms of gold, rated at Rs 12 Crorewhile returning from Dubai.

The Directorate of Information for Revenue (DRI) found the gold hidden in a special designed belt. The searches at her Bengaluru residence led to the confiscation of gold jewelry worth 2.06 crores and Rs 2.67 crore in cash. The total value of the confiscated assets amounts to 17.29 Rs.

Research indicated that Ranya, the stepdaughter of a senior police officer Ramachandra Rao has traveled in Dubai about 30 times in the last year, would be smuggled by significant gold quantities on every trip. Authorities believe that it has won Rs 1 Lakh per kilogram of gold smuggling, worth 12-13 lei per travel.

During interrogation, Ranya claimed that she received calls from unknown numbers that guide someone at the Dubai Airport. She said she learned how to hide gold watching videos on YouTube.

Also, the investigations revealed that her stepfather, the general director of the police (DGP) K Ramachandra Rao, trained a Constanta to provide protocol assistance at the Bengaluru airport. In a separate development on Saturday, Karnataka A Government sent DGP Rao on compulsory leave.

Apart from DRI, the application direction (ED) and CBI also prove the case. The Central Investigation Bureau also examines Ranya’s recent wedding materials, together with the guest lists and expensive gifts, to identify the potential links with the smuggling operation.

In the meantime, Ranya claimed to have been slapped several times, refused food and was forced to sign empty documents by DRI officers. In a letter to the additional general manager of DRI, she claimed that she was falsely involved in this case.

“Despite repeated attacks, I refused to sign the statements they prepared,” she wrote. “But in the end I was forced to sign around 50-60 typical pages and 40 empty white pages under extreme pressure,” she added.

Published by:

Akhilesh Nagari

Published on:

March 15, 2025