Gold smuggling case: Actor Ranya Rao's bail plea rejected by Bengaluru Court

Actor Ranya Rao

The 64th CCH Sessions Court in Bengaluru on Thursday rejected the bail application of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao for her alleged involvement in a gold smuggling case.

This is the third time her bail application has been turned down. On March 14, the Special Court for Economic Offences rejected her request for bail. According to several reports, the legal team of the actress is now gearing up to move the Karnataka High Court for bail.

Gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from Ranya, the step-daughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao, at Kempegowda International Airport on March 3 upon her arrival from Dubai.

Following this, searches were conducted at her residence, where officials recovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore.

On March 25, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) told the court that the actress confessed during her questioning that the funds for purchasing gold were transferred via hawala transactions.

“Money has been sent to Ranya Rao through hawala, she has confessed that," said senior advocate Madhu Rao of the DRI.

Last week, the court denied bail to Tarun Konduru Raju, who was arrested on March 10 for his alleged connection to the gold smuggling case. The DRI had opposed his bail, citing concerns that he could abscond if released.

Meanwhile, a gold dealer has also been arrested in the case for allegedly assisting Ranya in disposing of smuggled gold. On March 26, Sahil Sakariya Jain was presented before a magistrate, leading to the authorities obtaining four days of custody for further probe.

As per DRI, Sahil's involvement was first discovered through scrutiny of digital evidence and later from Ranya's voluntary disclosures.