Bengaluru, March 8
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an investigation into the sensational case of gold smuggling involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao, the step-daughter of a senior serving IPS officer in Karnataka, sources said on Saturday.
According to sources, the CBI registered an FIR against Ranya Rao based on inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
The authorities are suspecting the involvement of an international syndicate of gold smuggling in the case and the DRI has submitted in the court that it's a matter concerning national security.
The DRI had also submitted that it can't divulge details in the open court as the matter is sensitive.
Presently, Ranya Rao is in the custody of DRI and being grilled. The CBI sleuths have already begun investigation in Mumbai and Bengaluru, the sources confirmed.
Meanwhile, sources said the authorities have the video of Ranya Rao present in the marriage of her step-brother, son of senior IPS officer K. Ramachandra Rao in Bengaluru in February.
Ranya Rao is seen in videos participating in the marriage ceremony without hesitation. However, IPS officer Ramachandra Rao claimed that since her marriage four months ago, she was not in touch with his family.
He further claimed that Ranya Rao and her husband Jatin Hukkeri got married in 2024, and 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," DGP Rao claimed.
The authorities revealed that the Immigration department categorised Ranya Rao as a frequent traveller to foreign countries. On December 24, 2024, she had gone to Dubai and came back to Bengaluru on December 27.
She visited the US on January 18 and returned to Bengaluru on January 25.
Between February 2 and March 3, Ranya Rao visited Dubai five times. All these inputs have led to a strong suspicion of the presence of a strong international syndicate.
The sources also revealed that considering the huge amount of cash and gold involved in the case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also likely to investigate the case.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao aka Harshavardini Ranya, in her statement to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on the day of her arrest, claimed that she is a freelancer in the real estate sector in Dubai and agreed to smuggle 17 bars of gold.
The DRI officials arrested Ranya Rao after seizing 14.8 kg of gold from her at the Bengaluru International Airport on Monday night.
The agency seized Rs 2.06 crore worth of gold and Rs 2.67 crore in cash from her upscale Lavelle Road flat, where she reportedly paid Rs 4.5 lakh in rent.
Karnataka DGP for Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, K. Ramachandra Rao, responding to the development of the arrest of his step-daughter, actress Ranya Rao stated on Thursday that he is devastated and caught unaware by the development involving her.
