Bengaluru: Charges against actor Ranya Rao are grave and she cannot be granted bail at the moment, a special court in Bengaluru, Karnataka, ruled on Friday. Ranya, who is serving 14 days judicial custody at the moment for alleged gold smuggling, had hired some of the most brilliant legal minds in the state to try and get herself bailed out.
Her lawyers had pointed to alleged procedural lapses by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) during her arrest from the Bengaluru airport on March 3. The DRI, on the other hand, had told the court that they suspect her to be part of a gold smuggling syndicate. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also started a probe in the matter.
“We are not going into whether she is guilty or not. She has cooperated with the investigation so far and will continue to do so in the future. This is not a murder case, after all, and she is a woman. Hence, she is eligible for conditional bail,” a senior advocate representing Ranya had submitted in court.
The DRI had maintained that Ranya said she has nothing to declare after landing at Bengaluru from Dubai in an Emirates flight. However, there was a beep as she walked through a Door Frame Metal Detector. While there was nothing incriminating in her baggage, over 14 kg of gold was found strapped to her waist and calf with crepe bandage. She had no documents to show for the gold she was carrying.
The Agency also told the court that further investigations have revealed that she travelled to Dubai on 27 occasions over the last 12 months and everytime policemen, assigned as her security guards, helped her evade checks at the airport. A friend, travelling with her, was arrested later. The DRI also said that there is every possibility of her tampering with evidence if granted bail, as she has influence.
Ranya’s stepfather is a DGP rank officer in the Karnataka Police and is himself under the scanner for allegedly allowing his daughter to misuse privileges that the family enjoys.
After hearing both sides, Judge Vishwanath C Gowdar of the Special Court for Economic Offences turned down Ranya’s plea. She will continue to remain in judicial custody till the sessions court grants her bail.
