Bengaluru: Kannada film actor Ranya Rao was arrested for smuggling gold following months of surveillance by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the agency said in a statement on Wednesday even as her stepfather, senior police officer K. Ramachandra Rao said he was not “connected” to his stepdaughter’s activities.
DRI was monitoring Rao’s movements because she was frequently travelling overseas with her husband, Jatin Hukkeri, a well-known architect, despite no apparent professional or familial connections overseas, officials said.
Rao, who married Hukkeri in a high-profile wedding at Taj West End a few months ago, attracted suspicion after making four trips to Dubai within a span of 15 days. Officials from revenue intelligence noted a pattern in her visits, suspecting them to be linked to gold smuggling operations.
“She has travelled to Dubai 30 times in the past year, which we believe was part of his smuggling operations. She evaded strict checks and often received police escorts to bypass airport security checks,” said an official familiar with the investigation who asked not to be named.
On Monday, when she returned to Bengaluru, Rao allegedly attempted to sidestep security protocols with the help of a police constable, identified only as Basavaraju. However, DRI officers intercepted her and discovered a gold consignment in her possession. She was immediately taken into custody and moved to the agency’s office in Nagawara for further questioning.
Investigators suspect Rao leveraged her relationship with her father to evade scrutiny at customs. Following her arrest, officials raided her residence on Lavelle Road in Bengaluru, seizing gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore and ₹2.67 crore in cash.
“The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and remanded to judicial custody,” DRI said in a statement on Wednesday. The agency also confirmed that the total value of the seizure in the case stands at ₹17.29 crore, including 14.2 kg of gold.
Rao was subsequently presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody. During questioning, she claimed that she was coerced into smuggling gold. Meanwhile, the police have detained constable Basavaraju and recorded his statement regarding his alleged involvement in facilitating Rao’s movement at the airport.
Amid speculation over the actor’s alleged use of police connections, DGP K. Ramachandra Rao distanced himself from his stepdaughter’s actions. “I have no connection to my daughter’s activities. She got married four months ago and hasn’t been in touch with us since. The law will take its own course.”
Rao, who has been serving as the Director General of Police (DGP) since October 2023, has himself faced scrutiny in the past. His tenure as Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Southern Range was marred by controversy after his name surfaced in a case involving a large cash seizure.
In early 2014, police intercepted a Calicut-bound private bus near Mysuru’s Yelwal and claimed to have seized ₹20 lakh. However, Kerala-based merchants who were transporting the money alleged that the actual sum was ₹2.27 crore and accused police officials of colluding with a businessman to misappropriate the funds.
A senior officer said that the CID found lapses on Rao’s part in handling the case, particularly after it was revealed that some policemen involved in the alleged misappropriation were under his command. Although Rao denied any wrongdoing, he was transferred from his post soon after the controversy. Currently, Rao holds the position of Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.