Ranya Rao gold smuggling case: Bengaluru court rejects actress' bail plea

The Kannada actress who evaded Rs 4.83-cr customs duty by smuggling 14.2 kg of gold from Dubai as per DRI statement will continue to stay in the Central Prison.

Bengaluru: Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested in a gold smuggling case last week, was denied bail by a Bengaluru court on Friday.

Judge Vishwanath Channabasappa Gowdar, of the Special Court for Economic Offences, passed this order after hearing arguments from Ranya’s counsel as well as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Ranya will continue to stay in the Central Prison at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara.

Opposing the bail application, the DRI informed the court that this case "was a matter of national security" and that Ranya had not cooperated in the probe.

The 33-year-old actress was arrested upon her arrival in Bengaluru from Dubai on March 3 for carrying 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore on her person.

DRI investigations showed that she had “exploited” protocols and used VIP channels to exit the airport without frisks and checks.

Basappa Billur alias Basavaraj, a head constable posted at the airport police station who extended escort to Ranya, had told the DRI that “he was asked by his senior Ramachandra Rao (DGP) to assist his family members and relatives by extending protocol during their arrival and departure”.

DGP Rao is Ranya’s stepfather.

Ranya’s counsel, on the other hand, argued that the DRI had made procedural lapses during her arrest, including not stating the grounds for arrest, which warranted the bail. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the special court judge decided to reject the actor’s bail plea.

The actress' troubles are unlikely to end as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CB) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which are investigating larger angles in the case, may seek her custody soon.

Ranya told the DRI that this was the first and the only instance when she had travelled to Dubai and bought gold.

However, as per the DRI's arrest memo, investigators recovered from her Bengaluru home Dubai Ccustoms declarations dated November 13, 2024, and December 20, 2024, indicating that "in the recent past, she had purchased gold from Dubai, declared to Dubai customs that she is intending to travel to Geneva in Switzerland with the said gold but deviated and arrived in India as per her travel history".

The DRI also found that Ranya had travelled to Dubai at least 27 times in the past year.

Second suspect in judicial custody

Earlier in the day, Tarun Kondaru Raju, another suspect in the case, was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks.

The 30-year-old belongs to a prominent hotelier family in Bengaluru.

The DRI produced him before the court at the end of his police custody.

Raju has also filed a bail application and the court had directed the DRI to submit their objections, if any, by Friday.

Raju is accused of being Ranya’s accomplice in the suspected gold smuggling syndicate. He also had a brief stint in Telugu cinema, according to sources.

The DRI tracked down Raju after extracting information from Ranya's phone and other electronic devices, and analysed call records.

The DRI termed Ranya the "mastermind" and informed the court that through the smuggling attempt, she evaded customs duty of Rs 4.83 crore.

Probe into protocol lapse

Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta visited the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Friday to investigate alleged protocol violations and the suspected role of Ranya's stepfather.

According to reports, Gupta gathered inputs regarding the protocol procedures. On March 10, the state government asked him to submit a report in a week.