Gold smuggling accused actress Ranya Rao’s mother moves Karnataka HC against detention under Cofeposa Act
Kannada actress Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of Director General of Police K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from Dubai through Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.
3 min read
Ranya Rao was arrested when she arrived from Dubai with 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore concealed on her person. (File)H P Rohini, mother of Kannada actress Ranya Rao, an accused in a gold smuggling case, has moved the Karnataka High Court against any detention of her under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (Cofeposa). The matter was moved on Tuesday before the Karnataka High Court, with the Centre set to reply with its objections at the next hearing. The matter was heard by a vacation Division Bench of Justices H P Sandesh and Ramachandra Huddar.
The actress, the stepdaughter of Director General of Police K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from Dubai through Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. She allegedly attempted to evade customs duty of Rs 4.83 crore by strapping the gold on her body using bandages.
The habeas corpus petition by Rohini requested the court to issue a writ declaring that detention of Ranya under the Central order invoking the Cofeposa Act in this case would be “void ab initio.” While the Centre had initially sought four weeks to submit its reply, the matter will be heard next on June 3.
The order for detention for Ranya and her co-accused under the Cofeposa Act had been issued by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of Finance on April 22, based on a request of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The order would effectively mean that they could be kept in custody for up to a year even if bail was obtained.
Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had declined to grant her bail alongside co-accused Telugu actor Tarun Konduru Raju who was also arrested for allegedly assisting Ranya in the smuggling operation. Raju had travelled to the UAE at the same time as Rao but returned to Hyderabad instead of Bengaluru, according to DRI that arrested the two actors.
Ranya’s counsel had cited multiple supposed procedural irregularities on the part of the State, while the DRI stated that apart from the seized amount, 100 kg of gold had been smuggled by the accused. It was alleged that out of 31 trips, there was evidence of smuggling activity in 11 of them. A special court for economic offences had also rejected the bail application of Sahil Jain, the alleged hawala agent in this case.
You May Like
Photos
