Who is Ranya Rao? Actress sent to jail for 1 year due to…
In a latest development, the three suspects, including Kannada actor Ranya Rao, have been jailed for 1 year in the infamous gold smuggling case. The decision came under the provision of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA).
The advisory board under Section 8 of the Act has recommended that the provisions continue to apply to Harshavardini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, Tarun Konduru Raju alias Virat Konduru, and Sahil Sakariya Jain, a top source in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) confirmed to DH on Thursday.
“This essentially means that Ranya and the other two suspects will remain in prison for at least a year, despite the lower court granting the two of them bail,” the well-placed source said. “The board came to the decision, keeping in mind the evidence against the suspects, and communicated it to the investigators on Thursday.”
Why was Kannada actress Ranya Rao arrested?
Ranya is the daughter of Karnataka DGP (Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Rao. On March 3, 2025, Ranya flew to Bengaluru from Dubai. According to the DRI, Ranya was found with 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore on her person.
After six days of Ranya’s arrest, Raju, 36, was also arrested by the DRI on March 9. As per the DRI, Raju had a close tie with Ranya and was one of her associates in gold smuggling.
The third suspect, whose name is Jain, also a jeweller from Ballari, was arrested on March 26. Reports claim that Jain allegedly helped Ranya dispose of 49 kg of gold, which was worth Rs 40.13 crore, and helped her in hawala.
On May 20, the Special Court for Economic Offences granted bail to Ranya and Raju upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh each, along with two sureties.
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