Bengaluru, March 15: Gold smuggling-accused actress Ranya Rao has alleged that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths repeatedly slapped and hit her during custody, and demanded she sign statements under threats that they will "expose" her stepfather, DGP K. Ramachandra Rao.

Ranya Rao, whose bail plea has been denied, is presently in judicial custody and the DRI, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are investigating the case. The state government has appointed Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta to look into the aspect of the involvement of DGP Ramachandra Rao and police lapses.

Making the serious allegations against the DRI sleuths in a letter to the Additional Director General, DRI, on March 6 when she was being sent to the Central Jail in Bengaluru after her arrest at the Bengaluru International Airport, submitted through the jail's Chief Superintendent of Prisons, the actress requested the ADG that no reliance be placed on any of her statements recorded during the period from the time of her apprehension and till she was produced in the court.

"I am writing this letter to you with the false case registered against me, making allegations that while I was coming from Dubai, I was found carrying gold weighing more than 14 kilograms. Your officers did not even permit me to explain that I am innocent in this matter. They apprehended me from inside the aircraft and from that time of my apprehension from the aircraft till I was produced before a court, substantially, I was hit and slapped on my face about 10-15 times by the officers whom I can identify," she alleged.

“In spite of repeated hitting and slapping me on my face, I refused to sign the statements they prepared. One of the officers said if you are not signing papers, we will expose your father’s name and identity even though we know he is nowhere involved. Due to immense pressure to stress and physical assault on me, I have signed about 50-60 typed pages and around 40 blank white papers only by force by DRI officers," Ranya Rao claimed.

In her letter, the actress also alleged that since she was taken into custody by the DRI officers from around 6.45 p.m. on March 3, till she was produced before the court at 7.50 p.m. on March 4, she was not even permitted to have proper sleep and food. "In fact, the officers purposely denied me sleep," she said.

"In fact due to the DRI officials' inappropriate treatment of me, from deprived sleep, physical assaults such as slaps and hits on my face along with threatening to expose my father and family even in spite of the DRI officials knowing that he is nowhere involved as well as I am nowhere involved... these are forced signatures," she claimed.

Reiterating that she was forced to sign all documents, Ranya Rao claimed that she was innocent and falsely implicated. "No mahajar, search as stated were conducted and not a thing was recovered from me. Some persons from Delhi, who were stated to be officers, clearly wanted to protect some other passengers and have falsely implicated me," she alleged.

"I was also threatened again in the car on the way to court on March 4 that if I mentioned any of the assault to the judge, they would expose my father’s name...," she alleged.

However, the special court for economic offences, in its order rejecting her bail petition, referring to the allegations of torture by the DRI, noted: "The other ground for bail urged by the accused Ranya Rao as to her sleep was deprived during the course of interrogation and the same was contrary to the right of leisure as envisaged by the Constitution of India, cannot be accepted at this juncture as the complainant agency is claiming the interception/apprehension on the basis of specific intelligence as well as monitoring the travel history of accused No.1 (Ranya Rao)."

--IANS

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