No Relief Yet For Ranya Rao; Karnataka High Court Defers Actress' Bail Plea To April 17, DRI To Respond

Ranya Rao's Gold Smuggling Case: Kannada actress has been in custody for over a month after she was caught smuggling 14.2 kgs of gold at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Since then, she has been trying to seek a bail, but each time it gets rejected. This time, she approached the Karnataka High Court, and her bail plea was scheduled, but now the court has postponed it to April 17. They have asked the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to submit its objections against the plea. Earlier, the Bengaluru court had extended her custody to April 21. Ranya is among the three accused of smuggling gold in India. The other two accused are  Sahil Jain and Tarun Raju. Ranya Rao's bail pleas have been rejected three times so far.

Ranya Rao has confessed to using hawala money to purchase gold

During her previous bail hearing, the DRI's Advocate Madhu Rao told the sessions court that Ranya Rao had confessed to purchasing gold illegally through hawala money. The agency also filed a notice under section 108 to initiate a judicial inquiry against the actress. The actress also confessed that she had learnt the tricks of smuggling gold from YouTube. During the investigation it was also uncovered that she misused the airport security protocol using her connections with her stepfather, senior Karnataka IPS officer DGP K Ramachandra Rao, who has been sent on ‘voluntary leave’ amid the probe.

Earlier, an arrest memo was released that revealed that the actress had purchased gold in Dubai on November 13 and December 20, declaring that she was traveling to Geneva. However, records show that she instead returned to India. Rao has admitted to smuggling gold from Dubai on at least two prior occasions. Authorities estimate that she evaded customs duties amounting to approximately ₹4.83 crore.

Ranya made her debut in Kannada film industry alongside Sudeep Kiccha in Maanikya (2014). She then worked in two more movies - Wagah and Pataki - and since then has been inactive in the industry.

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