‘Ranya Rao tried to contact Congress ministers’: Karnataka BJP leader suggests political links in gold smuggling case

NEW DELHI: Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Monday described actress Ranya Rao’s gold smuggling case as one of the rarest in the country's history. Rao was arrested on March 3 by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.
The case has drawn significant attention as Ranya Rao is the daughter of a high-ranking police officer, and there are allegations of involvement of Congress ministers in the matter.
Also read: Karnataka DGP's Ranya Rao gold smuggling case triggers political storm

"Ranya Rao is also the daughter of a highest police officer. Against this backdrop, the chief ministers insist on the reality of the case to the people. If the ministers are involved in the case, the information is already in the hands of the chief ministers," Vijayendra stated.
Vijayendra further added, "If the government is to protect the corrupt in this case as per the previous scandal, the CBI probe is continuing in the wake of the CBI's investigation. The most prominent network is already out of investigation. Similarly, the CBI is conducting a deep investigation into the fact that many more people are involved in the smuggling, and it is confident that the investigation will reach a logical conclusion."
BJP leader Bharath Shetty commented on the case: "The smuggling case is a definite crime. During the crime, she tried to contact various congress ministers to get out. Now it's almost in the public domain that two ministers are involved and tried to help her get out of the case. Now, the CBI has taken hold of the case and surely something solid will come out."
Shetty also addressed the land allotment issue, "Regarding the land allotted to the company, CBI is investigating the case, and that point will also be covered. There was no illegality in the land allotment; the entire allotment process was followed correctly. The Congress people are saying it's allotted faster, and that's the only problem, however, the CBI will know what has happened after the investigation. The gold smuggling case is a crime, and the State government should have stayed away from that, but they didn't. If she gives a statement, then the ministers will get into trouble. This shows the law and order situation. The State has always been concentrating on appeasement politics and never law and order. They speak about the law of dovensim, where they want equal law and order."
Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board CEO Mahesh has clarified that Ksiroda India Pvt. Ltd., a company linked to Ranya Rao, was allotted 12 acres of land on January 2, 2023, in Sira Industrial Area, Tumakuru district.
Also read: Ranya Rao gold smuggling case: 12 acre industrial land given to Karnataka DGP's daughter sparks row; allotted under previous govt, says KIADB
The land allocation was approved during the 137th State Level Single Window Clearance Committee meeting when the previous government was in power.
The company had proposed to establish a manufacturing unit for Steel TMT bars, rods, and allied products, with a planned investment of Rs 138 crore.