Ranya Rao sentenced to one year in jail in gold smuggling case as bail denied

Sandalwood Actor and step-daughter of an IPS officer, Ranya Rao, who has been accused of smuggling gold bars from Dubai, is to remain in prison for one year. Though Ranya was granted a statutory bail, she was not released from prison as the COFESPA Act was invoked. Now the DRI has apprised the court that this is a fit case under the COFESPA Act and the accused shall not be granted bail for one year.

After the DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated time limit, Ranya Rao was granted default bail by the court on May 20, along with her co-accused Tarun Raju. Despite getting bail on a bond of Rs 2 lakh and bail conditions,



Ranya and Tarun remained in custody under COFEPOSA. For the unversed, COFEPOSA allows detention for up to one year even without any formal charge based on suspicion of smuggling.

In March this year, Ranya Rao came from Dubai and was trying to pass through the green channel of Kempegowda International Airport. This place is usually for passengers with dutiable luggage. The DRI officer asked Ranya if she had some undeclared luggage.  After the search, a total of 14.2 kg of gold worth about Rs 12.56 crore was recovered from the actress. After this, Ranya was taken into custody. Ranya's earlier bail plea was rejected twice by the local court and later by the Karnataka High Court.