Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested in an alleged gold smuggling case in March, has moved courtroom for statutory bail by citing that the Directorate of Income Intelligence (DRI) has not filed a cost sheet 60 days after her arrest.
Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of senior Karnataka IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, filed an utility earlier than a particular courtroom for financial offences on Might 5 underneath Part 187 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita that enables bail to an accused particular person on the finish of the investigation interval, which is 60 days in Customs Act instances.
The DRI has not objected to the appliance for statutory bail by Rao, who was arrested on the Bengaluru Worldwide Airport on March 3, on her arrival from Dubai with 14.2 kg of gold value ₹12.56 crore allegedly strapped on her physique.
The DRI has, nevertheless, indicated to the particular courtroom that investigations are nonetheless underway and a prosecution criticism can be filed sooner or later.
It has additionally indicated to the courtroom that the Central Authorities has invoked the Conservation of International Change and Prevention of Smuggling Actions (Cofeposa) Act, 1974, towards Ranya Rao and two associates to maintain them underneath detention for a 12 months.
The particular courtroom has posted the plea for statutory bail for orders on Might 12.
Rao’s affiliate and Telugu movie actor Tarun Konduru Raju alias Virat Konduru, 36, was arrested on March 9, and Sahil Sakariya Jain, 26, the hawala supplier who helped the actors promote the smuggled gold, was arrested on March 26.
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The grant of statutory bail for Ranya Rao on the finish of 60 days for investigations by the DRI is not going to affect the detention of the actor and her associates since they’ve been detained underneath the Cofeposa Act by an order handed by the Central Authorities in April, DRI sources mentioned.
Earlier, the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom, the classes courtroom, and the particular courtroom for financial offences had rejected the bail pleas filed by the 2 actors through the interval of investigations by the DRI.
The DRI has indicated the position of a bigger smuggling community through the bail proceedings of the actors.
“Not like standard crimes, which have an effect on people or particular teams, financial offences have the potential to threaten the steadiness of the nationwide financial system. Financial offences are grave and so they all the time pose a menace to the well being of the financial system of the nation,” Justice Vishwajith Shetty of the Karnataka HC mentioned in an April 26 order, rejecting the bail for the actors.
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The Excessive Courtroom pointed to the massive amount of gold that has been allegedly smuggled – over 100 kg in keeping with the DRI arguments within the HC, and the extension of presidency amenities like VIP protocols to Ranya Rao to reject bail.
The DRI investigations after Rao’s arrest revealed that she was allegedly assisted in passing the gold by Dubai customs by Tarun Konduru Raju through the use of his US citizen credentials, and that the smuggled gold was handed over to Sahil Jain in India for disposal.
The DRI has claimed to have discovered proof, by customs declarations and investigations of the accused, of 11 of 34 journeys undertaken by the actors to Dubai in 2024-25 involving gold smuggling.
The quantum of gold smuggled has been estimated to be over 100 kg by the DRI in arguments within the Excessive Courtroom.
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An order for the detention of Rao and her associates underneath the Cofeposa Act was issued by the Central Financial Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of Finance on April 22 to stop their involvement in additional gold smuggling actions.
The Cofeposa Act detention order successfully implies that Rao, Konduru and Jain will stay in jail for as much as a 12 months, even when they’re granted statutory bail on the finish of the 60-day investigation interval in Customs Act instances.