The Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is engaged in investigation by Kannada actress Ranya Rao in the case of gold smuggling. In this case, the DRI team has taken big action in Bangalore. The team has arrested Tarun Raju, the grandson of the owner of the Atria Hotel.
According to media reports, Tarun Raju was arrested when Ranya Rao was detained with gold worth Rs 12.56 crore at Kamphegowda International Airport. According to the India Today report, the investigation has revealed that Tarun Raju is also involved in the smuggling case, after which the police detained him. After being detained, he was produced in the Special Economic Offenses Court of Bengaluru. The court detained the DRI for five days for further questioning.
Officials believe that Raju and Ranya Rao may join the gold smuggling racket. They used to bring gold from abroad in that racket. Despite the alleged differences between him after Ranya’s marriage to architect Jatin Hawakari, the report mentions that he continued his illegal activities.
The investigating agency found that Raju had approached Raju while smuggling gold from Dubai, which was an important reason for his arrest. DRI detained Raju two days ago, while Ranya was already in custody. The authorities later confronted the two suspects to investigate their involvement to a complete extent.
Ranya Rao, the half -daughter of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation’s Director General of Police Ramchandra Rao, has allegedly confessed to being involved in the crime. Ranya has urged the authorities to keep the investigation confidential and offer them full support. As part of the DRI investigation, the officials searched his house, in which gold jewelery worth ₹ 2.06 crore and Indian currency worth ₹ 2.67 crore were recovered.
During the hearing in the court on Monday, Ranya Rao alleged that whenever he refused to answer the questions, the DRI officials “misbehave” with him. However, the investigating officer (IO) denied the claims and assured the judge that Ranya did not suffer any harassment from the officials. In response, the judge questioned, “You were given 30 minutes to take advice from your lawyer. Why didn’t you tell him? Why did he not file a petition in this regard?”
Ranya further alleged that he was forced to sign the documents. He told the judge, “I have fully supported the investigation. I refused to sign only on the third day, but after that I collaborated.” Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta will investigate the role of DGP level officer Ramchandra Rao in the gold smuggling case.
