Gold Smuggling Case: Ranya Rao seeks statutory bail as DRI misses chargesheet deadline

Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested on March 3 in a major gold smuggling case, has applied for statutory bail. The move comes after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) failed to file a chargesheet within 60 days of her arrest. On May 5, she submitted the bail plea before a special court under Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which permits bail if investigations aren’t concluded in time under the Customs Act.Rao, stepdaughter of Karnataka IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, was caught at Bengaluru airport with 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore strapped to her body.Central Government Enforces Cofeposa DetentionWhile the DRI did not oppose Ranya Rao’s statutory bail plea, it informed the court that investigations are ongoing and a prosecution complaint will be filed as per the report from The Indian Express. Additionally, the Central Government invoked the stringent Cofeposa Act, 1974, against Rao and two associates, allowing preventive detention for up to a year. The special court has reserved orders on the bail plea for May 12. Her co-accused include Telugu actor Tarun Konduru Raju, arrested on March 9, and hawala operator Sahil Jain, arrested on March 26.Statutory bail won’t override cofeposaLegal experts clarify that even if the court grants statutory bail to Ranya Rao under the Customs Act, the Cofeposa detention will keep her and her associates behind bars. Previous bail pleas by the accused were rejected by various courts, including the Karnataka High Court, citing the grave impact of economic offences on national security. Justice Vishwajith Shetty emphasized the seriousness of the crime and highlighted the alleged misuse of VIP protocols extended to Rao.Smuggling operation spanned over 100 kg of goldAccording to the DRI, the accused are linked to a larger smuggling network. Investigations suggest over 100 kg of gold may have been smuggled through at least 11 of 34 trips to Dubai by the actors. The gold was allegedly cleared in Dubai using US travel credentials and handed over to a hawala dealer in India. On April 22, the Ministry of Finance’s Central Economic Intelligence Bureau issued detention orders under Cofeposa to prevent further smuggling activities by the trio.