Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kg of gold from Dubai, has admitted in her statement to the police that she was carrying 17 gold bars on her body. She also disclosed details of her international travels, including visits to Europe, America, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. As reported by NDTV, she stated, “I have travelled to Europe, America, and (the) Middle East and have visited Dubai, Saudi Arabia. I wish to state that I am tired at present as I did not get enough rest.”
Ranya, daughter of real estate businessman KS Hegdesh and wife of architect Jatin Hukkeri, clarified that her statement was made voluntarily and that she was receiving a fair trial. She also mentioned that although she was provided food during custody, she chose not to eat as she wasn’t hungry.
Her arrest took place at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) received a tip-off regarding her involvement in smuggling activities. Following her detention, a special court for financial offences remanded her to judicial custody until March 18. The court is scheduled to hear her bail plea today, while the DRI has sought permission for her further interrogation from March 9 for three days to investigate whether she is linked to a larger smuggling network.
The DRI has described this as one of the biggest gold seizures at Bengaluru airport in recent years. According to officials, Ranya concealed the gold bars by strapping them to her body and covering them with clothing to avoid detection.
Further investigations revealed that she is the stepdaughter of senior police officer K Ramachandra Rao. Reports suggest that in the past year alone, she made over 30 short trips to Dubai and allegedly used her VIP connections linked to her stepfather to bypass regular security checks. However, K Ramachandra Rao has distanced himself from the case, stating that he has had no contact with her since her marriage to Jatin Hukkeri.
Meanwhile, searches conducted at Ranya’s residence led to the seizure of gold jewelry worth ₹2.06 crore and cash amounting to ₹2.67 crore.
