K’taka gold smuggling case: Actress Ranya Rao released after COFEPOSA detention

Bengaluru: In a significant development in the high-profile gold smuggling case, Kannada actress Ranya Rao was released from jail on Wednesday evening after completing one year under preventive detention.

Ranya Rao, who was lodged at Bengaluru Central Prison, was arrested in connection with an alleged gold smuggling racket involving gold worth Rs 102 crore.

The case had drawn widespread attention due to her links to the Kannada film industry and the police department.

After her release, Ranya Rao avoided the media and left the jail premises in her advocate’s vehicle.

Although she had earlier secured bail from the special court, her release was delayed when authorities invoked the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act against her, allowing her to remain behind bars despite the bail.

With the completion of one year since the COFEPOSA detention came into effect, Rao is now eligible for release.

The case remains under investigation, and further legal proceedings are likely in the coming days.

More details are yet to emerge in the case.

The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), a nodal agency under the Ministry of Finance, had invoked the COFEPOSA Act against the actress and other accused, as per the recommendation of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which is probing the case.

The Act was invoked to prevent the accused from engaging in smuggling once they were released on bail.

The Act is also invoked if the accused is found not to be cooperating with the investigating agencies, sources said.

Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of senior Indian Police Service officer Ramachandra Rao, was arrested on March 3, 2025, for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of gold, valued at over Rs 12.56 crore.

The case is being investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The state government has set up a special team led by a senior Indian Administrative Service officer to look into the role of Director General of Police Ramachandra Rao in the case.

The report in this regard has been submitted to the government.

Director General of Police Ramachandra Rao is currently under suspension.

The other accused, Tarun Raju and Sahil Sakaria Jain, have also been booked under the COFEPOSA Act.

The investigation into the gold smuggling case by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has revealed that the actress had been involved in hawala transactions in collusion with Jain, the third accused in the case, sources stated.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, in its remand application submitted to the Special Court for Economic Offences in connection with the arrest of Jain in the gold smuggling case, alleged that the jeweller and Ranya Rao were involved in a hawala nexus.

The investigations have found that, with the help of Jain, Ranya Rao disposed of 49.6 kg of gold and transferred Rs 38.4 crore of hawala money to Dubai.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said that investigations have indicated that Jain, hailing from Ballari and settled in Bengaluru, assisted and abetted Ranya Rao in disposing of 49.6 kilograms of gold worth around Rs 40 crore and transferring hawala money of Rs 38.4 crore to Dubai.

IANS