Ranya Rao case: ED raids institutions of Karnataka minister G Parameshwara

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday searched educational institutions linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, allegedly in connection with the gold smuggling case involving Kannada actor Ranya Rao.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress called the searches “vendetta politics” against a Dalit leader.

The ED searches were conducted at 16 premises. These included institutions owned by Parameshwara — the Sri Siddhartha Medical College and Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology in Tumkuru and Sri Siddhartha Institute Of Medical Sciences in Nelamangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

According to ED sources, the raids focused on those who allegedly facilitated illegal foreign exchange movement for gold procurement. A source said: “Several such persons have admitted to dealings with Ranya Rao. The buyers have admitted to having bought gold from her and selling it to jewellers. A few persons and entities provided routing funds to Ranya’s accounts, without any genuine business transactions.”