E-Paper
Ranya Rao’s blow-by-blow account: ‘Tapes, gold bars hid around waist’
The DRI stated that it seized gold bars worth ₹12.56 crore from Rao at Kempegowda International Airport after she arrived from Dubai on March 3.
Ranya Rao, the Kannada actor arrested in the alleged gold smuggling case, is in judicial custody. A Bengaluru Special Court for Economic Offences will pronounce its judgment on her bail plea on Friday, when her custody ends.
The 34-year-old actor's arrest has kicked up a major political storm in Karnataka, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and ruling Congress trading accusations.
While the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing various angles in the case, here's a blow-by-blow account of what transpired on the day Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with 14 kgs of gold at the Kempegowda International Airport.
What happened on March 3?
During interrogation by the DRI officials, Ranya Rao claimed she received an internet call to collect the gold from Gate A of Terminal 3 at the Dubai International Airport.
She revealed that it was the first time that she was smuggling gold, NDTV reported.
HT cannot independently verify this information.
Rao told the investigators that she collected two packets from an unknown man in a white gown at the airport dining lounge. He was a six-foot-tall man with a wheatish complexion and an American accent. The man took Rao to a corner and handed the gold over to her.
The gold had been wrapped in a “thick tarpaulin plastic type” material, the report quoted Rao as saying.
Before arriving at the airport, she had pieces of tape cut and ready, before strapping gold bars on her body to conceal them. She had also watched YouTube videos to learn how to smuggle gold.
How Ranya dodged security checks before being arrested
Basappa Billur alias Basavaraj, a head constable deployed at the Kempegowda International Airport, told DRI officials that he personally assisted Ranya Rao in bypassing the regular security checks, Deccan Herald reported.
Basavarak claimed he was instructed on multiple occasions to facilitate the movement of family members of high-ranking police officials, the report added.
The constable told DRI officers that Rao contacted him on the day of her arrest, requesting a VIP protocol for her arrival at around 6:20 pm.
Basvaraj claimed he met her upon deplaning and accompanied her through the airport’s Green Channel, a passage typically reserved for passengers with nothing to declare.
The protocol officer stated that he had extended similar privileges to her three or four times before, though he could not recall the exact dates.
Metal detector led to actor's arrest
According to an HT report, the DRI arrest memo said that Rao arrived in Bengaluru on an Emirates EK 566 flight from Dubai on March 3 at 6:30 pm, and was intercepted by officers at the airport.
While trying to pass through the green channel, she denied carrying any dutiable goods, gold, or contraband. But a metal detector alerted the DRI officers to the presence of concealed items on her person.
It was found that Rao wrapped the gold bars around her waist and calves with bandages and tissues. She hid the additional gold bars and cut pieces in her shoes and front pockets. The gold was confirmed to be 24-karat and weighed 14.2 kg, valued at more than ₹12.56 crore.
