Actor Ranya Rao's stepfather, K Ramachandra Rao, a senior police officer in Karnataka, has been placed on "compulsory leave" just days after the actor's arrest in a high-profile gold smuggling case.
Rao, who served as the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation), was relieved of his duties through an official order issued this evening. However, the order did not specify any reason for his leave.
Earlier this month, Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport after being caught with 14.8 kg of gold. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had been monitoring her movements after noticing unusual travel patterns, including four trips to Dubai in just 15 days.
Following her arrest, K Ramachandra Rao expressed his shock, stating that he had no prior knowledge of his stepdaughter's activities. "Like any other father, I was shocked and devastated when I learned about it through the media. I was not aware of any of these things," he had said at the time. He further clarified that Ranya was not living with him and resided separately with her husband.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Ranya Rao allegedly leveraged her connections to bypass security checks at the airport. She reportedly introduced herself as the daughter of a Karnataka DGP and sought police escorts to facilitate her movement. However, authorities had been keeping a close watch on her, leading to her arrest.
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During her detention, officials recovered gold bars valued at ₹12.56 crore, with some of the gold hidden in her clothing and some worn as jewelry. A subsequent search of her residence, which she shared with her husband, led to the discovery of gold jewelry worth ₹2.06 crore and cash amounting to ₹2.67 crore.
The case has triggered a multi-agency investigation involving the DRI, which is handling Ranya Rao's case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is looking into the larger smuggling network, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing possible money laundering through hawala transactions.
In addition to the criminal investigations, the Karnataka government has also initiated an inquiry into allegations that Ranya Rao misused VIP protocol privileges at the airport to evade scrutiny.
Also Read: Actor Ranya Rao's bail plea rejected in gold smuggling case
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