Kannada actress Ranya Rao gets bail in gold smuggling case

The court also imposed strict conditions — they cannot leave the country and must not commit a similar crime. Read further on Dynamite News:

Bengaluru: The Economic Offences Court in Bengaluru on Tuesday granted default bail to Kannada actress Ranya Rao and co-accused Tarun Kondaraju in connection with a gold smuggling case. However, the actress is likely to remain in custody under a stringent anti-smuggling law.

They were granted bail on two sureties each and a ₹2 lakh bond.

The court also imposed strict conditions — they cannot leave the country and must not commit a similar crime.

The court issued a stern warning, noting that any breach of these conditions would lead to the cancellation of their bail.

Ranya's lawyer, BS Girish, argued that the actress will not be released even if she gets bail, as a case has been registered against her under the stringent Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974.

The stringent charges were applied after multiple attempts were made by the accused to secure bail.

Authorities said that it was necessary to prevent her from resuming illicit activities, citing her lack of cooperation during the investigation.

Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of senior police officer K Ramchandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kilogrammes of gold valued at over ₹12.56 crore.

The Karnataka government has formed a special team, led by a senior IAS officer, to probe the potential involvement of DGP Ramchandra Rao in the smuggling racket.

She is currently lodged at the Bengaluru central prison along with two others — Tarun Raju and Sahil Sakaria Jain — who have also been booked under the COFEPOSA Act.

The case is being investigated jointly by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the CBI.

Last month, Ranya Rao told the Karnataka High Court that the search and seizure carried out by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) violated provisions of the Customs Act.

Senior advocate Sandesh J Chouta, representing Ranya, argued that the search was conducted in violation of Section 102 of the Customs Act, which mandates that any person being searched has the right to be taken before a magistrate or a gazetted customs officer. Chouta told the court that the grounds of arrest were not formally communicated to Ranya’s family members in writing, as required under the law.