 "Ranya Rao arrest: Who is K Ramachandra Rao, actor's stepfather and top cop of Karnataka?")
Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested on Monday by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Bengaluru airport for allegedly smuggling gold.
Known for her role in the Sudeep-starrer Maanikya, Rao is the stepdaughter of a senior police officer from Karnataka.
According to investigators, Rao leveraged her relationship with her father, K Ramachandra Rao, to evade scrutiny at Customs.
Here’s all we know about him.
Who is K Ramachandra Rao?
K Ramachandra Rao has been the Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation since October 2023.
Ramya Rao , 33, is his stepdaughter.
Following the death of his first wife, the senior police officer remarried.
Ranya Rao is one of his second wife’s two daughters from her first marriage.
His name was involved in a controversial money seizure while he was the Southern Range’s Inspector General of Police (IGP).
According to The Week, in 2014, Mysore South Police seized an amount transported by four merchants from Kerala after stopping a private bus from Calicut near Yelwal in Mysuru.
The merchants claimed that the police had seized Rs 2.27 crore, whereas the police claimed to have seized Rs 20 lakh. They further accused the police of conspiring with another businessman to take money from them.
Ramachandra Rao’s gunman Prakash was among the officers on the bus when it was raided. Ramachandra Rao was transferred shortly after, despite his denial of all the accusations.
Why is he in the spotlight?
The authorities are investigating if Rao was acting alone or was a part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India.
As per PTI, preliminary investigations suggested that Rao may have attempted to use her connections to bypass Customs checks.
The Times of India sources also revealed that protocol privileges typically reserved for bureaucrats helped her evade scrutiny.
Upon landing, Rao allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka’s DGP and contacted local police personnel to escort her home, the report said.
Because of this, authorities are looking into whether any police personnel knew about Rao’s actions or were duped into helping her.
Ramachandra Rao has disassociated himself from the current episode and expressed his shock and disappointment over his daughter’s arrest.
He said he was not aware of any of these things and that there is no black mark in his career.
“I was also shocked and devastated when such an incident came to my notice through the media, I was not aware of any of these things, like any other father I was also shocked,” Ramachandra Rao was quoted by ANI.
He added, “She is not living with us, she is living separately with her husband, there must be some problem between them due to some family issues. Anyway, the law will do its job, there is no black mark in my career. I don’t want to say anything more.
How was Ranya Rao arrested?
Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) after she was found in possession of 14.8 kilogrammes of gold on Monday.
She had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been on the police’s radar due to her frequent international trips despite having no business or family ties there.
The actress reportedly visited Dubai four times in 15 days, according to the police.
Rao allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a large amount of it and hiding gold bars in her clothes, investigators revealed.
“Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kilogrammes were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs 12.56 crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962,” a DRI statement said.
After her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru’s HBR Layout for questioning.
According to the DRI statement, Rao’s residence at Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road was also searched and more gold jewellery was found there.
“Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore,” it said.
“The total seizure in the case stands at Rs 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks,” the agency said.
Rao has been arrested under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and remanded to judicial custody.
Agencies are also likely to question her husband.
With inputs from agencies
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