Gold smuggling case: Court reserves order on Actress Ranya Rao’s bail plea
Bengaluru: A court here on Thursday reserved its decision on the bail plea of Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport on charges of gold smuggling.
The Economic Offences court is set to announce its verdict on Friday, following arguments from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which has sought her custody for further investigation.
During the court proceedings, the DRI sought three-day custody of Rao, emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation due to potential national security implications.
The agency insisted that her interrogation could reveal links to a larger smuggling syndicate, necessitating a multi-layered probe.
The actor’s legal team opposed the request, contending that such custody was unnecessary.
However, the prosecution countered by saying that objections in sensitive cases like this should not be entertained.
DRI representatives also pointed out that certain case details could not be disclosed in open court and offered to submit crucial findings in a sealed cover if required.
The agency informed the court that significant progress had been made in the past two days and that public disclosure of details could compromise the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors also cited a Supreme Court ruling that permits custody for up to 40 days in such cases.
After hearing the arguments, the judge decided that the bail plea would only be considered once the investigation reached a crucial stage.
Gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from Rao at Kempegowda International Airport, following which searches were conducted at her residence and gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore were also recovered.
Rao is the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao. The DGP-rank officer is currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, according to a senior police official.
The total seizure in the case stood at Rs 17.29 crore, including assets worth Rs 4.73 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks.
According to DRI the 14.2 kg haul is one of the largest gold seizures at Bengaluru airport in recent times.
Investigators had been monitoring Rao’s movements for some time due to her frequent international travel. Records allegedly indicated that she visited Dubai nearly 30 times in the past year, including four trips within the last 15 days alone—raising red flags for authorities.
