Karnataka: Congress, BJP spar over Ranya Rao gold-smuggling case

Karnataka’s ruling Congress and the BJP are locked in an ugly war of words even as a major probe continues following the arrest of Kannada actor Ranya Rao on charges of smuggling gold from Dubai.

The investigation is also focussing on the possible role played by a senior police officer, Ramachandra Rao, the stepfather of Ranya who is accused of exploiting airport protocol services for the smuggling.

The Karnataka government handed over the Ranya case to the Crime Investigation Department but axed the order as additional chief secretary Gaurav Gupta is probing Ramachandra Rao’s role in the racket.

Official complicity

Some believe that the smuggling of gold by Ranya, 33, could not have been possible without the complicity of at least some officials at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

Ramachandra Rao is a director general of police who now heads the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corp. He has denied any links to the smuggling.

Gupta’s inquiry will focus on the circumstances surrounding the misuse of protocol-related facilities and the involvement of Ramachandra Rao in the case.

Also read: Ranya Rao case: Congress vs BJP over land grant; actress alleges 'verbal torture'

Airport VIP services

A blazing political row erupted after reports suggested that Ranya used VIP services at the airport to bypass security checks.

Ranya, who has acted in three movies since 2014 and is also said to be a model, was arrested at the airport on March 3 with 14 kg of gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crores.

A search of her Bengaluru residence led to gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crores and cash amounting to Rs 2.67 crores.

Political fireworks

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Karnataka claimed that Ranya tried to contact Congress ministers in the state an attempt to influence the investigation.

The BJP has also posted a picture on social media showing chief minister Siddaramaiah and Congress leader G Parameshwara with the actor and her family, reportedly taken at her wedding.

"The Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in Karnataka has now reached the doorstep of chief minister Siddaramaiah. This dated photo also features the current home minister, Parmeshwara," BJP leader Amit Malviya said in a post.

Also read: Ranya Rao 'confesses' to 17 gold bars in her possession; willing to cooperate with authorities

Congress defends itself

The BJP’s insinuation was strongly rejected by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar who insisted that there was no Congress link to the case.

He challenged the opposition to provide evidence of any ministers’ involvement, emphasising that so-called political connections should not be assumed based on public interactions.

He insisted that no Congress minister would support such criminal activities.

Frequent trips to Dubai

Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad said the case was being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. “They have all the freedom to investigate.”

A special court for financial offences sent Ranya Rao to judicial custody until March 10. This was later extended till March 18.

The actor claimed her trip frequent trips to Dubai were for business purposes but authorities suspect they were meant to bring in gold into India illegally.

A bigger racket?

Officials in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) say that Ranya visited Dubai as many as 27 times in the last six months.

Also read: ‘Deeply distressing’: Ranya Rao’s stepfather denies knowledge of gold smuggling case

This is what led the department to start suspecting her, leading to her arrest just when she was about to exit the airport on March 3.

Some investigators say Ranya would be part of a large racket involved in gold smuggling and that this could not have been an individual enterprise.