Actress Ranya Rao has been charged under a special anti-smuggling law called COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act), following her arrest in a gold smuggling case.
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), which works under the Ministry of Finance, decided to use this law against Ranya Rao and others involved in the case. This decision was made based on recommendations from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which is investigating the case.
As a result of this law being applied, Ranya Rao will not be allowed to get bail for at least one year. The law is used to prevent accused people from continuing to smuggle once they are released on bail. It’s also used when the accused aren’t cooperating with investigators.
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Sources say the central agencies took this step after Ranya Rao and the others involved tried multiple times to get bail. Along with Ranya Rao, two other accused individuals, Tarun Raju and Sahil Sakaria Jain, have also been charged under this law.
Ranya Rao, who is the stepdaughter of a senior police officer, was arrested on March 3. She is accused of smuggling 14.2 kilograms of gold worth more than Rs 12.56 crore.
Currently, Ranya Rao and the other accused are being held at the Bengaluru Central Prison. The case is being investigated by the DRI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The state government has set up a special team, led by a senior officer, to investigate the role of Ranya Rao’s stepfather, Ramchandra Rao. A report on this investigation has already been submitted to the government.
The DRI’s investigation into the gold smuggling case has revealed that Ranya Rao was involved in illegal money transfers, known as hawala transactions, with Jain, another accused.
The investigation found that Ranya Rao and Jain were involved in selling 49.6 kilograms of gold, worth around Rs 40 crore, and transferring Rs 38.4 crore in hawala money to Dubai.
