Kannada actress Ranya Rao has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 102 crore by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in connection with a major gold smuggling racket. Officials confirmed the action on Tuesday, adding that Rao had earlier been sentenced to a one-year jail term under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) in July.
Rao, the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao, came under further scrutiny after her stepfather was placed on compulsory leave during the probe.
Heavy Penalties On Co-Accused
The DRI has also imposed hefty fines on others linked to the smuggling operation. Apart from Ranya Rao, Tarun K Raju, who is described as a close associate of actress Ranya Rao, has been fined Rs 63 crore. He is accused of smuggling 71 kilograms of gold into the country. Separately, jewellers Sahil Sakariya Jain and his relative Bharat Jain have each been fine Rs 53 crore, as reported by Times of India. They were involved in smuggling a combined 126 kilograms of gold, with 63 kilograms attributed to each of them.
On Tuesday, DRI officials delivered detailed notices—spanning 250 pages each, with an additional 2,500-page annexure—to the accused at Bengaluru Central Jail. “It was a herculean exercise to prepare a detailed notice along with supporting documents. Today we served 11,000 pages of documents to the accused,” a DRI source told PTI.
Arrest At Kempegowda Airport
Investigators revealed that Ranya Rao was caught on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, with 14.8 kg of gold in her possession after arriving from Dubai. The case quickly gained widespread attention due to its scale and the high-profile names involved.
Court Hearing Scheduled
Meanwhile, the High Court took up the COFEPOSA-related matter on Tuesday. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for September 11, DRI sources said.
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