Bengaluru : Ranya Rao, 32, a Kannada film actress, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment under the stringent Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act in a gold smuggling case. The COFEPOSA recently also ruled that she will not be granted bail during the entire term of her detention.
The development comes months after the actress was granted default bail on May 20 by a city court, along with her co-accused Tarun Raju. She got the bail after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence failed to file a chargesheet within the legally mandated timeframe.
The actress did not succeed in coming out of jail, despite getting bail. The court had granted her bail on a Rs 2 lakh bond and surety conditions, but she continued to remain in custody due to the preventive detention order under COFEPOSA. The COFEPOSA is a strict law which permits detention for up to one year, even without formal charges, based on suspicion of smuggling activities.
Ranya, a stepdaughter of senior IPS Officer and Director-General of Police (DGP), K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested in March for attempting to pass through the Kempegowda International Airport’s green channel, typically reserved for passengers without dutiable items. According to the airport authorities, the actress appeared anxious when questioned by DRI officials about whether she had any undeclared items. On her suspicious behavior, the authorities conducted a detailed search a total of 14.2 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately Rs 12.56 crore, was recovered from her. Subsequently, she was immediately taken into custody.
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