Bengaluru, Mar 13: 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.

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.

Commenting on the decision to withdraw the CID probe, senior BJP MLA from Bengaluru S.R. Vishwanath suggested that the government might be afraid that if the CID investigation continued, the involvement of politicians and prominent individuals would be exposed, leading to embarrassment. “As soon as the government realized that the probe could cause embarrassment, they withdrew the order,” he alleged.

However, he added that investigations by the CBI and other central agencies would continue, ensuring that the truth comes to light. “The CID would have had to present the facts of the case, which would have put the state government under scrutiny. Now that the ED, IT, and CBI have launched investigations, I am sure influential figures will be caught in the scam,” Vishwanath stated.

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.

However, DRI sleuths have concluded that Ranya Rao is evading questions and withholding crucial information. Sources pointed out that if she had been threatened into smuggling gold, she could have sought help from her stepfather, a senior DGP-rank IPS officer, or approached the local police.

Ranya Rao was arrested last Monday by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials for smuggling gold upon her arrival at Bengaluru International Airport. Under pressure, the state government had ordered two separate investigations into the case to determine the role of Ranya Rao’s father, DGP K. Ramachandra Rao, in granting her protocol privileges and police escorts. However, later, the government withdrew the CID probe within 24 hours, stirring a controversy.

The Central agencies, the CBI and the DRI, are also probing the case. The actress was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths at the airport.

(IANS)

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