Kannada actor Ranya Rao’s bail plea in the gold smuggling case has been rejected by a sessions court in Bengaluru for the third time.
Earlier on March 14, the Special Court for Economic Offences turned down her request for bail. Rao’s legal team is now preparing to knock at the doors of the high court to secure her release.
Legal setback
In another legal setback for Rao, the 64th City Civil and Sessions Court on Thursday rejected her third bail plea in the ongoing gold smuggling case. She will now continue to be in judicial custody.
Rao is the stepdaughter of senior police officer Ramchandra Rao, who has also been questioned in the case.
Judicial probe
According to the prosecution, Ranya admitted to using hawala channels to facilitate gold purchases.
In response, the authorities have issued a notice to initiate a judicial investigation, which they believe will uncover further financial irregularities.
The case also involves Tarun Raj, an aide of the actor, who has been named as the second accused.
During the hearing, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) lawyer Madhu Rao revealed that Ranya and Raj made approximately 26 trips to Dubai together, often departing in the morning and returning the same evening. Before her arrest, the actor allegedly booked a flight ticket for Raj, who then handed over the gold to her in Dubai.
Reasons for not giving bail
Ranya Rao's case has international links and cross-border implications, investigating officers have told the court, which was cited as one of the reasons for denying her bail.
Rao is also accused of violating customs baggage rules when she travelled abroad 27 times in just one year. So, the investigating officers had argued that if she was given bail, she could potentially tamper with evidence or mislead the investigation.
Besides citing these reasons for denying her bail, the court also said that Ranya had been involved in evading customs duty which has caused the exchequer a loss of more than ₹48 million.
And the investigating authorities feared that if she was released on bail, she would flee the country.
Sahil Jain arrest
Rao allegedly disposed of the smuggled gold via a merchant identified as Sahil Jain, who was arrested on Wednesday by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). With this, so far three people including the actor have been arrested in the case.
Tarun Raj, an aide of the actor, is the second accused in the case and he is also waiting for the court's decision on his bail application.
Investigators alleged that Ranya misused her stepfather’s name and exploited security protocols meant for high-ranking officials to bypass airport checks.
