Kannada actress Ranya Rao found carrying 14.8 kg gold, arrested

Kannada actor Ranya Rao was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport of Bengaluru on Monday night on charges of smuggling gold after she was allegedly caught carrying 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai to India. She was presented before an economic offences court on Tuesday and was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody. According to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI),Rao -- the step-daughter of Director General of Police, Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, Ramachandra Rao -- had been under their radar for a while. The agency acted on a tip-off and arrested the actor upon her arrival from Dubai on an Emirates flight.
Rao had been under surveillance due to her repeated international trips with her husband, Jatin Hukkeri, a well-known architect. DRI officials said that the actor travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, raising revenue intelligence’s suspicions. Each time she returned to Bengaluru, she was seen wearing a substantial amount of gold jewellery. As per DRI protocols, passengers with repeated trips to the region are subject to frisking. The ANI report says that the DRI team was tipped off about Ranya Rao's alleged involvement in gold smuggling operations and thus, they stationed themselves at the airport hours before her arrival to arrest her. She was arrested after her flight landed around 7 pm.
A statement released by the DRI also said that, following her arrest, they also raided her home on Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road where they recovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash. “The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and remanded to judicial custody,” the release stated. “The total seizure in the case stands at Rs 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks. The haul of 14.2 kg is one of the biggest seizures of gold at Bengaluru International airport in recent times,” the DRI said in the statement.
Rao made her film debut in 2014 opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in 'Maanikya' (2014). A remake of 2013 Telugu film Mirchi, Maanikya portrays Rao as Manasa, a woman from an influential family who becomes Sudeep's love interest.Later, she expanded her career beyond Kannada cinema and made her Tamil debut in 2016 with Wagah, where she starred opposite Vikram Prabhu. n the Kannada comedy film Pataki (2017), she portrays Sangeetha, a journalist and the love interest of actor Ganesh's character. Rao hails from Karnataka's Chikamagaluru. She completed an engineering degree from Dayanad Sagar College of Engineering in Bangalore. Meanwhile, senior police officer Ramachandra Rao, whose daughter and actor Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru airport on Monday with 14.8kg of gold, said he was “shocked and devastated.” Rao said he was unaware of the incident until it was reported in the media. “She is not living with us, she is living separately with her husband. There must be some problem between them due to some family issues. Anyway, the law will do its job. There is no black mark in my career. I don't want to say anything more,” he told ANI.

(State Correspondent)