The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the bail petitions filed by Kannada actor Ranya Rao and her co-accused friend Tarun Konduru Raju in the alleged gold smuggling case. After exhaustive arguments from both defense and prosecution, Justice S Vishwajith Shetty reserved the order at the Karnataka HC.
Ranya Rao, in her always, that she had been falsely implicated and was innocent, is being represented by advocate Sandesh Chouta. Meanwhile, senior advocate Madhukar N Rao, appearing for the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), opposed the bail applications on the grounds of serious charges. The DRI had earlier informed that the duo had smuggled almost 100 kilograms of gold from Dubai to India.
The High Court asked the DRI how it was that Rao managed to get VIP protocol and police protection when she was arrested on March 3 in Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. Upon arrival, DRI officials found 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at approximately ₹ 12.5 crore in her possession. The agency also said that it was still looking into that specific thing in that case.
Tarun Raju’s counsel pleaded with the court to adjourn the bail plea on his client’s behalf, arguing that he maintained it was weak. Even if the claims were taken at face value, he said Raju was only implicated in that he travelled to Dubai and handed over the gold to Rao.
According to the DRI, the pair flew to Dubai more than 20 times between January and March 2025, and Rao reportedly made as many as 56 trips from 2023. Additionally, the search brought up some gold, but they said Rao first denied having anything to declare at the airport.
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