A special court judge who had seen Ranya Rao for financial offenses ordered her to 14 days of judicial prison. She had previously had a medical examination at Bowring Hospital. Ranya said that she was visiting Dubai for work, according to media sources. But the Delhi DRI team had already received information about her suspected smuggling activities.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detained Kannada film actress Ranya Rao, daughter of Director General of Police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night (March 3) on suspicion of smuggling gold.
Ranya is DGP Rao’s stepdaughter and is well-known for her parts in movies like Manikya and Pataki. She was charged by the authorities for possessing 14.8 kg of gold.
Ranya was brought before a special court judge on Tuesday night for financial offenses, and she was placed under 14 days of judicial custody. She had previously had a medical examination at Bowring Hospital.
Ranya said that she was visiting Dubai for work, according to media sources. But the Delhi DRI squad already had information about her suspected smuggling activities. In response, DRI police arrived at the airport two hours prior to her March 3 arrival time.
Who is Ranya Rao?
Ranya, who is originally from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, studied engineering at Bengaluru’s Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering before entering the motion picture business. She played a wealthy young woman and the protagonist’s love interest in the 2014 Kannada film Maanikya, which was directed by Sudeep and starred her.
With the 2016 film Wagah, in which she costarred with Vikram Prabhu, Ranya furthered her career in Tamil cinema. In 2017, she made a comeback to Kannada film with Pataki, costarring opposite Ganesh as a journalist.
About Ranya Rao’s arrest
Ranya was brought before a special court for economic offenses following her detention on Monday night, and the judge remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody.
Officials said that she was under monitoring because of her frequent international travels and that she arrived from Dubai on an Emirates airplane. According to investigators, she smuggled the gold by wearing a lot of it and hiding gold bars within her clothes.
When authorities discovered that she had visited Dubai four times in a 15-day period, they became suspicious and carried out a targeted operation when she returned.
According to preliminary findings, Ranya might have tried to avoid customs inspections by using her contacts. She reportedly claimed to be the daughter of the Director General of Police of Karnataka when she landed and called local police officers to take her home.
Authorities are currently investigating whether any law enforcement personnel, including her IPS relative, knew about her activities or if they unintentionally helped her.
Authorities are reportedly looking into whether she was a member of a wider smuggling network that operated between Dubai and India, or if she acted alone.
Who is Ranya Rao’s Father?
In response to his daughter’s arrest for suspected gold smuggling, Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation Director General of Police (DGP) Ramachandra Rao expressed his amazement and sadness upon learning about the situation through the media.
On Monday night, March 3, 2025, Ms. Ranya, DGP Rao’s stepdaughter, was detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) after arriving from Dubai on an Emirates flight. Before she arrived, a team from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was stationed at the airport in response to a report regarding her alleged involvement in gold smuggling. She was arrested as soon as she touched down. “The law will do its job,” Mr. Rao said in an attempt to disassociate himself from the scandal in an interview with ANI on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. My career has no black marks on it.
