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

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court on Thursday rejected the bail application of gold smuggling suspect and Kannada actress Harshavardini Ranya alias Ranya Rao. This was the second time that she was denied bail. 

The 63rd Additional City Civil and Sessions judge passed the order after hearing arguments from Ranya’s counsel and objections by the DRI. 

"The regular bail petition filed by the petitioner/accused U/s 483 of BNSS is hereby rejected," the court observed. 

An order detailing the grounds for rejecting the bail is awaited. The DRI had vehemently argued against granting Ranya bail. 

Among other things, the DRI told the court that Tarun Konduru Raju, the second suspect and Ranya’s close associate, had told the investigators that Ranya had used hawala transactions to arrange money to buy the gold directly from the suppliers in Dubai. 

Raju also told the DRI that the payments were made in cash via the UAE Dirham (AED). The agency also told the court that Ranya remained their key suspect and was a flight risk. 

Ranya is now likely to approach the High Court of Karnataka for relief. She is currently lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru. 

On March 3, Ranya, 33, was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when she arrived from Dubai. DRI officials alleged that she had concealed 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore on her person. 

Tarun’s bail: DRI seeks time

At the same time, the DRI has sought time to file objections to the bail application moved by Raju before the sessions court. Raju was arrested on March 9. 

The court has adjourned the hearing to March 29, when the senior standing counsel of the central agency will file the objections.