Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 6: Kannada actress Ranya Rao, arrested after 14 kg gold bars worth Rs 14.56 crore were seized from her at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Monday, apparently attracted the attention of the security authorities by frequently travelling to Dubai without having any family relations or business interests in the Gulf country.
The officials said on Thursday that Ranya Rao visited Dubai 27 times in a year. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials have said the 14.2 kg haul is one of the largest gold seizures at the Bengaluru airport in recent times. The DRI which operates under the Ministry of Finance, had been monitoring the movements of Ms Rao, the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, due to her frequent trips to Dubai.
She was produced before a special court for financial offences, which remanded her to judicial custody till March 18. The Customs sought four-day custody of the 33-year-old actor during the hearing of her bail petition on Thursday. Objecting to this, her lawyer said Ranya Rao was sent to judicial custody (from March 4 to March 18) as the DRI had no further questions for her. “Now, when she has moved a bail petition, the Custom department needs her custody,” the lawyer said. The court has reserved the custody order for Friday.
The investigation into the case has revealed that Ms Rao was a part of the gold smuggling network and took hefty commissions to smuggle goods from Dubai to Bengaluru, media reports said. The actor allegedly received around Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in commission to smuggle one kilogram of gold from Dubai to Bengaluru, according to the report.
After the seizure at the Bengaluru airport, searches were conducted at Ranya Rao’s home and gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore were also recovered. Distancing himself from the case, the actor’s stepfather said he was unaware of Ms Rao and her husband’s business dealings and that the law would take its course.
“Like any other father, I was shocked and devastated when it came to my notice through the media. I was not aware of any of these things. I don’t want to say anything more,” Mr Rao said. The Director-General of Police-rank officer also clarified that Ms Rao was not living with him. “She is living separately with her husband. There must be some problem between them… (maybe) due to some family issues,” he added. Mr Rao is currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
On Monday, Ms Rao arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight. Authorities grew suspicious after noticing that she had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting a targeted operation upon her return. She had allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothing, investigators revealed.
The DRI which is probing the gold smuggling case, suspects that Ranya Rao has strong links in Dubai, who managed to smuggle the gold bars into the airport and then handed them over to her. According to the agency, Rao wrapped the gold bars around her inner thighs, shin, waist inside the airport in Dubai. She used tape and crepe bandage to wrap them around her body parts, they said. It suspects that she is not only a carrier, but is also involved in the nexus.
Investigations into the case also suggest that she “used her connections” to bypass security at the airport. Upon landing at the Bengaluru international airport, a state protocol officer would go to the immigration and pick up Rao’s luggage for fast-track security clearance. This way, she would skip frisking or going through metal detectors at the airport upon landing (unless security personnel are suspicious, people are not thoroughly scanned upon landing). “It’s a clear case of protocol being misused,” DRI sources said.
Authorities are investigating whether she was acting alone or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. Ranya Rao, who has appeared in several South Indian films, featured opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in ‘Maanikya’ in 2014.
The DRI further said the three recorded statements of the actor have incriminating details. It said she has not denied most of the charges. Others are also involved in the case and she needs to be questioned further on that, it added. Rao’s mobile and laptop have been recovered, but the DRI is yet to gain access to them as they are locked. The actor also has bruise marks on her face, the agency said.
Her stepfather, the IPS officer, on Thursday said Ranya Rao has not contacted her family since her marriage. “Ranya got married to Jatin Hukkeri in 2024,” he said. “Since then, they have maintained complete independence and privacy. She stopped visiting the family home and we were also not given opportunities to visit them in their new home resulting in a clear and definitive separation between us and them,” his statement read.
Describing himself as a “heartbroken parent”, he said, “No words can truly express the depth of my shock, pain, and devastation by the recent developments. This is an extremely difficult time for my family and me, and we are struggling to process it.” The officer also added that “If there is any violation of law on the part of Ranya, the law will take its course.”
