Ranya Rao Gold Smuggling Case: The stepfather of Kannada actor Ramya Rao, who is an accused in a gold smuggling case, DGP Ramchandra Rao, has been sent on compulsory leave. The actor was arrested in a gold smuggling case last week.
“Sri. K.V. Sharath Chandra, IPS (KN-1997), Additional Director General of Police, Recruitment is placed in Concurrent Charge of the post of Chairman & Managing Director, Karnataka State Police Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Bengaluru, with immediate effect and until further orders. Dr. K. Ramachandra Rao, IPS, is sent on compulsory leave,” said a Karnataka Government order issued on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ranya Rao approached a Sessions Court in Bengaluru for bail. Her move came after the Special Court for Economic Offences here denied her bail on Friday.
Ramachandra Rao, DGP of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation sent on compulsory leave; KV Sharath Chandra, Additional Director General of Police, Recruitment, is placed in Concurrent Charge of the post of Chairman & Managing Director, Karnataka State Police Housing &… pic.twitter.com/33JM8dUJro
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2025
While denying the bail to the actor, the Special Court for Economic Offences said that the charges against the actress were serious. She was arrested on March 3 by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.
The CBI has filed an FIR in the gold smuggling case on the complaint of Abhishek Chandra Gupta, Additional Director of DRI.
The FIR has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) on the complaint of Abhishek Chandra Gupta. The complaint discloses the cognizable offences U/s 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 20148) r/w 61(2) of BNS.
According to the complaint, after Ranya Rao’s arrest on March 3, two foreign nationals were also arrested on March 6 from Mumbai airport for attempting to smuggle 21.28 kg of gold into India worth Rs. 18.92 crore, as per the complaint.
Abhishek Chandra Gupta, Additional Director of DRI, in his complaint, has said that these cases involving passengers making trips from Dubai and attempting to smuggle gold in large quantities point to a “possible nexus” with a coordinated smuggling syndicate, possibly operating from Dubai (UAE).
In Rao’s case, she travelled to Dubai multiple times while the two arrested foreign nationals had previously arrived at Mumbai airport multiple times.
Gupta, in his complaint, has also suspected the possibility of the involvement of public servants and others.
“The above two cases detected in quick succession involving passengers making trips from Dubai, the attempted smuggling of large quantities of gold into India and the high frequency of these visits involving Indian and foreign nationals, point to a possible nexus with coordinated smuggling syndicate, possibly operating from Dubai (UAE). This may have larger national and international ramifications. The possibility of involvement of unknown public servants of the Government of India and unknown others, with such coordinated network, needs to be investigated,” the complaint said.
The actor was arrested in a case pertaining to the seizure of gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport here on March 3 upon her arrival from Dubai. Following the seizure, searches were carried out at her residence, and officials said that gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash were also recovered.
