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Indian Express
27-04-2025
- Indian Express
Karnataka High Court rejects bail pleas of Ranya Rao, Tarun Konduru Raju in gold smuggling case
The Karnataka High Court Saturday rejected the bail petitions of Kannada actor Ranya Rao and Telugu actor Virat Konduru alias Tarun Konduru Raju in a gold smuggling case. A bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty passed the order. The full order is awaited. Ranya Rao is accused of smuggling 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore from Dubai. She was arrested on March 3 at the Bengaluru airport while allegedly attempting to evade customs duty to the tune of Rs 4.83 crore by strapping the gold on her body using bandages. She moved the high court for bail after a sessions court denied the same, citing the alleged use of the hawala route to transfer funds to purchase the gold. A special court for economic offences had also rejected a bail application by the alleged hawala agent, Sahil Jain. Previously, Ranya Rao's counsel had argued that there were procedural irregularities in the search carried out against her. It was argued that as per Section 102 of the Customs Act, the subject of the search had to be taken before a gazetted officer or magistrate, whereas in this case, the gazetted officer was also the investigating officer of the case. The counsel also stated that her relatives should have been informed of the arrest in writing and not just telephonically. He also pointed out that Ranya Rao was a woman accused who had been imprisoned for 45 days, whereas bail was usually granted for offences under the Customs Act which attracted under seven years imprisonment. On the other side, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) stated that apart from the seized amount of 14.2 kg, 100 kg of gold had been smuggled from Dubai by the accused, with there being evidence of smuggling by the actors in 11 out of 31 trips. The DRI also alleged that the two accused used Konduru's US passport to pass large quantities of gold through Dubai Customs checks, claiming that the gold was being taken to Geneva, Bangkok, and the US. Meanwhile, a special court for economic offences has allowed the DRI to interrogate Ranya Rao for two days in prison. The Centre has issued orders to detain the accused under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (Cofeposa) Act, 1974. This would allow detention for up to a year even if bail is granted, as previously reported by the Indian Express.
Indian Express
23-04-2025
- Indian Express
Bengaluru court allows DRI plea to quiz Ranya Rao in prison for 2 days in gold smuggling case
A special magistrate court for economic offences in Bengaluru has allowed a plea by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to interrogate the Kannada film actress Ranya Rao alias Harshavardini Ranya, 34, in prison for two days in connection with its findings in a gold smuggling case in which the actress was arrested on March 3. The DRI approached the special court for economic offences last week with an application to question the actress Ranya Rao at the Bengaluru Central Prison regarding a company she established in Dubai to serve as a front for gold smuggling and her connections to a smuggling syndicate. The special court ruled Wednesday that the DRI 'has made out valid, justifiable and tenable grounds to accord permission to obtain her statements at Central Prison, Bengaluru'. The court has said that DRI officials 'are permitted to obtain the statement of accused No.1 on 24.04.2025 and 25.04.2025 between 10-30 am and 05-30 pm at Central Prison, Bengaluru with the help of laptop, key board, printer and other stationary items.' The special court order allowing the DRI to question the actress in prison came even as the Karnataka High Court on April 22 reserved its orders in bail pleas filed by Ranya Rao and her associate, the Telugu actor Virat Konduru alias Tarun Konduru, in the gold smuggling case. The gold smuggling case emerged after Ranya Rao, who is the daughter of a senior Karnataka police officer, was intercepted at the Bengaluru International Airport by the DRI on March 3 with 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore concealed on her body. Ranya Rao arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight when she was intercepted based on specific intelligence and was later arrested by the DRI. The DRI alleged during recent court arguments that Ranya Rao and Virat Konduru, 36, and a hawala dealer, Sahil Jain, 26, who was a receiver of the smuggled gold, were part of a gold smuggling syndicate that had smuggled over 100 kg of gold since 2024. 'The instant application discloses investigations having revealed the conspiracy between accused Nos.1 to 3 and also the existence of a syndicate. The investigating agency is requesting the permission of this court to obtain the statement of accused No.1 with respect to incriminating materials forthcoming from the investigation,' the special court said. The DRI has reported in remand applications that the actress smuggled as much as 49.6 kg of gold valued at over Rs 40 crore from Dubai between November 2024 and February 2025 (apart from the 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore that was seized on March 3 by the DRI). The actress is alleged to have handed over the contraband to the hawala dealer Sahil Jain, who allegedly paid for the consignments through hawala transfers to Dubai and India. The DRI has claimed to have found evidence, through customs declarations and investigations of the accused, of as many as 11 of 31 trips undertaken by the actors to Dubai in 2024-25 involving smuggling of gold. The quantum of gold smuggled by the syndicate has been estimated by the DRI to be over 100 kg in arguments presented in the high court.
Gulf News
22-04-2025
- Gulf News
Gold smuggling case: A whopping 100kg trafficked in operation led by actress Ranya Rao
Dubai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), India's top anti-smuggling agency, told the Karnataka High Court on Monday that Kannada actress Ranya Rao and Telugu actor Virat Konduru were involved in smuggling 100 kg of gold into India, as part of an ongoing racket. According to a report in The Indian Express, the agency stated that through the analysis of the Customs declarations made in a foreign country by the two accused and the amount of gold found to have been received by hawala dealer Sahil Jain, who has also been arrested in the case. The investigation found that 100 kg of gold was smuggled, apart from the 14.2 kg of gold seized from Ranya Rao at the Bengaluru airport on March 3. The agency also said that it had found evidence of gold smuggling in 11 of the 31 visits undertaken by the actors from abroad since early 2024. It added that it was looking for more evidence to link their trips to instances of gold smuggling. The counsel for the DRI, Madhu N Rao, told the single-judge bench during the arguments that it had obtained four more Customs declarations pertaining to 2024 during the investigations. The court directed the DRI counsel to provide all details of the declarations. The high court also asked the DRI counsel how Ranya Rao had obtained special protocol services available to government officials at the Bengaluru airport during her return trips from the US. The counsel said that Ranya availed the protocol services at the airport on account of instructions given by her stepfather, senior DGP-rank police officer Ramachandra Rao, to a police constable who was handling the protocol services at the airport.
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Indian Express
Bengaluru smuggling case: Ranya Rao and Tarun Konduru brought 100 kg of gold from Dubai to India, DRI tells court
The probe into the gold smuggling racket involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao and Telugu actor Virat Konduru alias Tarun Konduru has revealed that 100 kg of gold was smuggled to India from Dubai as part of their operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) told the Karnataka High Court on Monday during a bail hearing for the two accused. The agency stated that through the analysis of the Customs declarations made in Dubai by the two accused and the amount of gold found to have been received by hawala dealer Sahil Jain, who has also been arrested in the case, it found that 100 kg of gold was smuggled, apart from the 14.2 kg of gold seized from Ranya Rao at the Bengaluru airport on March 3. The agency said that it had found evidence of gold smuggling in 11 of the 31 visits undertaken by the actors to Dubai since early 2024. It added that it was looking for more evidence to link their trips to instances of gold smuggling. The actors had gone to Dubai on 25 occasions on single-day trips, the court was informed. The counsel for the DRI, Madhu N Rao, told the single-judge bench during the arguments that it had obtained four more Customs declarations pertaining to 2024 during the investigations. The court directed the DRI counsel to provide all details of the declarations. The high court also asked the DRI counsel how Ranya Rao had obtained special protocol services available to government officials at the Bengaluru airport during her return trips from the US. The counsel said that Ranya availed the protocol services at the airport on account of instructions given by her stepfather, senior DGP-rank police officer Ramachandra Rao, to a police constable who was handling the protocol services at the airport. The counsel for Ranya Rao earlier argued that the DRI did not follow search and arrest procedures mandated by the Customs Act while intercepting the actress on March 3 on her arrival from Dubai. The counsel for Virat Konduru, meanwhile, argued that his client was not connected to the smuggling activities. The DRI has alleged that the two accused used Konduru's US passport to pass the large quantities of gold through Dubai Customs checks by claiming that the gold was being taken to Geneva, Bangkok and the US. The high court will hear the case again on Tuesday.
