Crime
Film Actress and IPS Officer’s Daughter Ranya Rao Arrested at Bengaluru Airport
Bengaluru: A day after Kannada film actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday conducted a raid at her residence, leading to the seizure of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and cash amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. Rao, 33, the stepdaughter of a senior Karnataka IPS officer holding the rank of Director General of Police, was intercepted at the airport early on March 3 while returning from Dubai.
“Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted an Indian woman passenger, aged around 33, who had arrived from Dubai to Bengaluru via Emirates flight. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on her person,” the DRI said in an official statement. The agency described the seizure as one of the biggest gold hauls at Bengaluru International Airport in recent times.
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Following her arrest, Rao was remanded to DRI custody until March 18 by a special court for economic offences. During a subsequent search at her residence on Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she lives with her husband, officials confiscated gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and cash totaling Rs 2.67 crore. The total seizure in the case now stands at Rs 17.29 crore. “The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and remanded to judicial custody,” the DRI stated.
Controversial Family Ties
Rao, who began her career in the Kannada film industry in 2014 at the age of 22, played lead roles in three films and was attempting to establish herself in other South Indian film industries. Her stepfather, a senior police officer, has had a controversial past, previously linked to a robbery involving a gold consignment being transported from Karnataka to Kerala on a bus. Although several junior police officers were accused of involvement, no official action was taken against the senior officer, who was merely transferred.
Additionally, the officer’s son was questioned last year by a Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team over his alleged association with international hacker Srikrishna Ramesh, also known as Sriki. Investigators looked into transactions related to a Porsche Macan, reportedly purchased by the hacker’s associates in January 2018 for Rs 57 lakh before being returned for a refund.
The officer’s son recently married the daughter of a renowned former Kannada actress-turned-politician. Meanwhile, Rao is also reported to have had close associations with senior political figures in Karnataka.