Bengaluru (Karnataka) – Kannada actress Ranya Rao’s stepfather, DGP Ramchandra Rao, has been sent on compulsory leave following her arrest in a gold smuggling case. The Karnataka government issued an order on Saturday appointing Additional Director General of Police K.V. Sharath Chandra as the concurrent head of Karnataka State Police Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Bengaluru, in place of Rao.

Ranya Rao seeks bail after rejection by special court
Ranya Rao has approached a Sessions Court in Bengaluru for bail after the Special Court for Economic Offences denied her request on Friday. The court observed that the charges against her were serious. She was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.

CBI files FIR under Prevention of Corruption Act
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR based on a complaint by Abhishek Chandra Gupta, Additional Director of DRI. The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS). The complaint cites offences under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (as amended in 2018) and Section 61(2) of BNS.

Possible smuggling syndicate link suspected
Following Ranya Rao’s arrest, two foreign nationals were arrested at Mumbai airport on March 6 for allegedly smuggling 21.28 kg of gold worth Rs 18.92 crore into India. The DRI's complaint suggests a potential link between these cases and a larger, coordinated smuggling syndicate operating from Dubai.

The complaint highlights that Ranya Rao had travelled to Dubai multiple times, and the arrested foreign nationals had previously arrived in Mumbai on multiple occasions. Gupta also raised concerns about the possible involvement of public servants and other individuals in the smuggling network, stating that the matter required further investigation due to its potential national and international ramifications.

With ANI inputs