Karnataka: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi alleges Congress link in Ranya Rao gold smuggling case

Hubballi (Karnataka) [India], March 13 (ANI): Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday alleged that Kannada actress Ranya Rao was escorted by state police while travelling abroad, enabling her to evade Customs checks.

He also claimed that the arrangement was made on the orders of a Congress minister despite her ineligibility for such protocol.

Speaking to media, Joshi said, “The state police used to escort that lady whenever she was going abroad, which helped her to avoid customs checking. She was escorted under the instructions of some Congress Minister, even though she was not eligible for such a protocol. The state government should come clean on this.”

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) asked the CBI to probe the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case.

Legal advisor to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, AS Ponnanna, said, “CBI’s jurisdiction in Karnataka is virtually non-existent unless the government permits. Therefore, in order to get jurisdiction to probe an issue, they have shown it as a multi-state and, secondly, the involvement of officials of the Central government under the Central law. Therefore, they have come to investigate; let them investigate. CBI can investigate all aspects.”

Actress Ranya Rao was arrested on March 3 by the DRI at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.

Ranya, the stepdaughter of DGP K. Ramachandra Rao, was produced before a special court judge on the evening of March 4 for financial offences. Prior to her transfer to custody, she underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru. During her questioning.

Rao claimed that her trip to Dubai was for business purpose. However, authorities suspect that her visit was linked to the illegal importation of gold. Then, she was remanded to the custody of the DRI until March 10, which was extended till March 24.