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Was Ranya Rao attacked in custody? Women’s panel responds to viral pic
A special court for economic offences granted the DRI three days’ custody of actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested in gold smuggling case
Was Ranya Rao, the Karnataka actor arrested in the gold smuggling case, assaulted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in their custody?
After the ‘Maanikya’ actor was held with 14.8 kilograms of gold at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on March 3, a viral photo of her with swollen eyes and bruises began circulating on social media, leading to speculations about an alleged assault on her after arrest. HT cannot independently verify this image.
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Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chaudhary told ANI that the panel could not conduct a probe unless a formal complaint was filed.
"Actually, someone has to file a complaint with us. The Women's Commission is not an authority to conduct an investigation," she added.
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Condemning any act of violence against Ranya, the state women's panel chief stated, “Whoever has committed the assault should not have done so. That's for sure. No one should take the law into their hands. We must allow the investigation, and the law will take its own course. No one has the right to assault anybody, whether it's a woman or anyone else, but I'm totally against that.”
Chaudhary also added that if Ranya files a complaint, the commission would act accordingly. "Unless she writes to the commissioner or sends a letter to me asking us to look into the matter, we will write to the concerned authorities to help her, support her, conduct a proper investigation, and submit a report. That's all the commission can do. Since she has not asked or filed a complaint, I can't comment further," she said.
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Ranya Rao in 3-day DRI custody
A special court for economic offences granted the DRI three days’ custody of actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport earlier this week for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of gold from Dubai.
The DRI sought her custodial interrogation to investigate the source of the smuggled gold and its intended recipients, suggesting a possible link to "anti-national activities". The court agreed to the request, allowing further inquiry into the case.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
