Actor Ranya Rao’s stepfather, a senior cop in Karnataka, has been sent on “compulsory leave” days after the actor was arrested in a gold smuggling case.
The order for the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Rao’s leave was issued this evening. It did not specify any reason.
Earlier this month, Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru airport after officials found 14.8kg of gold in her possession.
“Like any other father, I was shocked and devastated when it came to my notice through the media. I was not aware of any of these things. I don’t want to say anything more,” the senior cop said at the time of his stepdaughter’s arrest.
“She is not living with us… she is living separately with her husband. There must be some problem between them… (maybe) due to some family issues,” the top cop had said.
Preliminary inquiries suggest Ranya Rao used her connections to skip security checks; she reportedly announced herself as the daughter of a Karnataka DGP and contacted local cops for an escort. However, authorities had been tracking Ms Rao for some time; their suspicion grew after she made four trips to Dubai in 15 days.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested the actor after gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from her at Kempegowda International Airport on March 3 upon arrival from Dubai. A source said the arresting officers found her trying to smuggle gold into the country by wearing a significant amount and concealing the rest in her clothing.
Subsequently, officials searched her home, where she lived with her husband, and found gold jewelry worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore.
Three agencies are probing the gold smuggling case: DRI, which is investing the Ranya Rao case, the CBI, which is probing the wider smuggling network and its operators, and the ED, which is probing the Hawala Channel.
The Karnataka government has also launched an inquiry into the alleged misuse of VIP airport protocol privileges by the actor.