Ranya Rao gold smuggling case: ED begins probe, DRI raids 9 locations

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was also conducting raids at nine locations across Bengaluru, targeting the flats and properties of Ranya Rao's husband, Jatin Vijaykumar Hukkeri

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched an investigation into the sensational gold smuggling case involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of Karnataka DGP K Ramachandra Rao. Sources confirmed that the ED has conducted searches and raids at eight locations in Bengaluru and other places. More details are yet to emerge in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was also conducting raids at nine locations across Bengaluru, targeting the flats and properties of Ranya Rao’s husband, Jatin Vijaykumar Hukkeri. On Tuesday, Jatin obtained an interim order from the High Court restraining the DRI from arresting him.

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Sources revealed that investigations have found that Ranya Rao had booked round-trip tickets from Bengaluru to Dubai using Jatin Hukkeri’s credit card, raising suspicions about his involvement in the gold smuggling case.

Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara, speaking to the media in Bengaluru, defended the State government’s decision to withdraw the probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into police involvement in the gold smuggling case within 24 hours of ordering it.

“I had ordered the CID to investigate the case. However, at the same time, the Chief Minister had directed the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) to conduct an investigation, as DGP K Ramachandra Rao, Ranya Rao’s stepfather, is an IPS officer. Since two parallel investigations were not necessary, we decided to withdraw the CID probe,” Parameshwara stated.

When questioned about a recently surfaced photograph showing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and himself attending Ranya Rao’s wedding, Parameshwara reacted angrily, saying he had attended thousands of weddings, including this one.

Sources confirmed that based on a complaint by the DRI, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in Delhi has officially registered an FIR in the gold smuggling case and has intensified its probe.

The DRI investigation revealed that Ranya Rao claimed she received calls from unknown numbers instructing her to smuggle the gold. She also stated that she learned how to conceal gold by watching YouTube videos. Ranya Rao further claimed that she was instructed to collect the gold from Gate A of Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport, where a tall man in a gown handed it over to her. She insisted that this was her first attempt and that she had never been involved in gold smuggling before.

She reportedly told investigators that she hid the gold in her jeans and shoes, attached some to her thighs, and wrapped them with scrap bandages in the airport restroom. She was instructed to hand over the smuggled gold to an unknown person waiting in an auto-rickshaw on the service road near Bengaluru International Airport, sources said.