No pressure to withdraw CID probe into Ranya gold smuggling case, says Home Minister G Parameshwara

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said there was no pressure on him to withdraw a CID probe into the gold smuggling by Kannada actress Ranya Rao.

Karnataka government withdrew its order for a CID investigation into the lapses and dereliction of duty by police personnel deployed at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) with regard to Ranya, within 24 hours after pronouncing it.

The Minister said since the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) ordered appointing Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta to probe the possible role of Ranya’s step father K Ramachandra Rao, a DGP rank officer, a parallel investigation was not needed.

He insisted that he was the one who immediately ordered CID investigation into the protocol lapses as soon as the matter came to light.

"In the meantime, the Chief Minister’s Office also gave direction to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms since he (Ramachandra Rao) is an IPS officer. So we decided not to order inquiry by our (police) department and let the DPAR probe it," Parameshwara told reporters here.

Hence, the DPAR order is retained. We withdrew because two separate investigations should not take place, he explained.

"There was no pressure. Neither anyone asked for an inquiry nor there was any pressure on us to withdraw it. That’s what had transpired. There is no confusion," The Minister said.

Regarding BJP sharing a photograph showing him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attending Ranya Rao’s wedding, Parameshwara dismissed it saying, “We go to thousands of weddings.” Recently, gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport here. The next day, officials said, searches were conducted at her residence where gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash were recovered.