Gold smuggling case: Bengaluru court grants 3-day custody of actress Ranya Rao to DRI
Kannada actress Ranya Rao was caught at Bengaluru airport on March 3 with gold bars worth Rs 12.86 crore strapped to her body. Her frequent international trips had aroused the suspicion of DRI officials.
Although the actress filed a bail plea on Thursday, the special court kept the petition in abeyance to consider the DRI’s plea.
The special court for economic offences on Friday allowed a plea by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seeking three days’ custody of actress Ranya Rao, 33, who was arrested at the Bengaluru International Airport on March 3 for smuggling 14.2 kg of gold on her person while traveling from Dubai.
The special court granted the plea for custodial interrogation of the actress after the DRI indicated that it needed to carry out further investigation on the source of supply of the gold and its destination. The agency has claimed that further probe is necessary since the smuggling could be linked to anti-national activities.
Sources familiar with the probe said Rao — who is the stepdaughter of a DGP-rank IPS officer in Karnataka — had strapped the gold, worth Rs 12.86 crore, to her body in an attempt to avoid detection by Customs officials.
On Thursday, the DRI filed a plea in the special court seeking Rao’s custody for investigation. The agency also placed a copy of a statement obtained from her to indicate the need for custodial questioning.
The DRI told the court that Rao, who is known as Harshavardini Ranya in her passport, travelled to Dubai 27 times in the last six months and the purpose of these visits requires further investigation.
Soon after her arrest, the actress told the agency that she was a “freelancer in Real Estate in Dubai”. Following her arrest, a DRI search at her residence led to the seizure of jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash, taking the total seizure in the case to Rs 17.29 crore.
Although the actress filed a bail plea on Thursday, the special court kept the petition in abeyance to consider the DRI’s plea.
The agency is also probing whether the actress has carried consignments in a similar manner earlier as well. According to sources, her repeated trips to Dubai and Malaysia in recent months, within a gap of five to 10 days, had aroused the DRI’s suspicion.
She reportedly used VIP channels to exit the Bengaluru airport on her arrival and the presence of a protocol official to receive her ensured a smooth passage without extensive checks.
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