Kannada Actor Ranya Rao Gets Bail In Gold Smuggling Case, But COFEPOSA Keeps Her Behind Bars

Ranya Rao Remains in Custody Despite Bail Order: Kannada film actor Ranya Rao, who was arrested earlier this year in a high-profile gold smuggling case, has been granted conditional bail by a special economic offences court in Bengaluru. However, she remains in judicial custody under the provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), a preventive detention law.

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the court granted bail to Ranya Rao and co-accused Tarun Kondaraju on Tuesday, with stringent conditions. Each was required to provide two sureties and a personal bond of ₹2 lakh. The court has barred both individuals from leaving the country and warned that any attempt to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses would result in cancellation of their bail. They must also appear before the court on all scheduled hearing dates and cooperate fully with the investigation.

Despite being granted bail, Ranya Rao reportedly will not be released due to her detention under COFEPOSA. Her mother has challenged this detention in the Karnataka High Court, which is set to hear the matter on June 3.

Background of the Gold Smuggling Case

Ranya Rao, 33, was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport after arriving from Dubai. She was allegedly found carrying 14.2 kilograms of gold concealed under her clothing. Officials valued the gold at ₹12.56 crore and stated that the smuggling attempt sought to evade customs duties amounting to ₹4.83 crore.

The actor, who debuted in Kannada cinema with Maanikya in 2014 and later appeared in Pataki and the Tamil film Wagah, is also the stepdaughter of senior Karnataka IPS officer K. Ramachandra Rao. According to DRI, she had made over 50 trips to Dubai in the two years prior to her arrest, raising suspicions about her frequent international travel.

Authorities also searched her residence in Bengaluru, reportedly recovering ₹2.06 crore worth of gold jewellery and ₹2.67 crore in cash. Investigators are examining her connections to a larger gold smuggling syndicate and probing suspected hawala transactions.

Ranya Rao had reportedly told officials that this was her first instance of gold smuggling and admitted to having learned concealment techniques from online videos. However, the scale of the operation and repeated international trips have led authorities to believe otherwise.

As the legal proceedings continue, the outcome of the COFEPOSA challenge in the High Court may determine how long Ranya Rao remains in custody.