Bengaluru
Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was caught red -handed in the gold smuggling case, has made many big revelations in DRI’s interrogation. In her statement, Ranya Rao has said that she used to travel in connection with photography and real estate business.
On questioning about the visit to Dubai, Ranya Rao said, ‘I have visited Europe, America, Africa and Middle East several times. I had been getting calls from unknown foreign numbers for the last 2 weeks. On March 1, a call came from a foreign phone number.
Ranya’s refusal to tell the identity of the person
Ranya Rao further said, ‘I was instructed to visit Gate-A of Terminal 3 of Dubai Airport. From there, he was asked to take gold and deliver it to Bengaluru. This was the first time I smuggled gold from Dubai to Bangalore. I have never bought gold from Dubai before. However, Ranya refused to reveal the identity of the person who instructed him. Ranya also told that she learned to hide gold from the social media platform YouTube.
Went to the airport with gold rods
Revealing in DRI’s interrogation, Ranya said, ‘The caller’s tone was African-American. He told me that he would meet at the airport in Dubai white gown. We met Terminal 3 at Gate-A at Dubai Airport. After security check, he gave me gold rings. He left immediately after delivery. The man was about 6 feet tall and fair. I never met him again nor saw him.
Gold rods hidden in the toilet
Ranya Rao further said, ‘Gold was in two packets covered with plastic. I bought crepe bandage and scissors at the airport and stuck gold rods to my body in the airport toilet. I hid gold in my jeans and shoes. I learned all this by watching YouTube videos.
Flight was booked with husband’s credit card
When DRI asked Ranya about her flight booking, she told that she used the credit card of her husband Jatin Vijay Kumar to book tickets. When Ranya was asked who was to be given the gold of smuggling in Bengaluru, he said, ‘I was instructed to give gold rods to an unknown person. I was asked to go to the service road after the airport toll gate. I had to keep gold in an auto-rickshaw near the signal. The auto-rickshaw number was not given.
How was Ranya Rao busted?
Actress Ranya Rao reached Bangalore International Airport from Dubai on 3 March. Ranya made four trips to Dubai within 15 days, which raised doubts. A police constable named Basavaraju was already ready to help him at Bangalore Airport. With the help of that, the actress tried to escape the security check, but Dri’s team was already monitoring her. Dri caught Ranya red -handed with a gold consignment. During the investigation, the authorities recovered 14.2 kg of gold of foreign origin hidden in his jacket, which is an estimated price of Rs 12.56 crore in the market.
BJP shared pictures of Ranya Rao with Karnataka CM
In the case of gold smuggling, political mercury has gone up with the involvement of Kannada film actress Ranya Rao. BJP leader Amit Malviya shared a picture of Ranya Rao with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday (12 March 2025). Amit Malviya wrote in the tweet that the matter of Ranya Rao gold smuggling in Karnataka has now reached the door of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
BJP’s target against CM Siddaramaiah and Ji God
Amit Malviya, the head of BJP IT cell, wrote, “In this picture, Ranya Rao is accompanied by Chief Minister and State Home Minister Ji Parmeshwar. The irony is that the person who rejected any political relationship is none other than the CM-in-Whats DK Shivkumar of the Congress. ” Harshvardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao was arrested about a week ago for smuggling gold worth Rs 12 crore from Dubai to India.
According to a report, Ranya Rao has told the story of DRI to get gold and hide it. Ranya Rao said, “I received a call from a foreign number on 1 March. For the last two weeks, I was getting calls from foreign numbers for the last two weeks. I was asked to visit Gate A of Terminal 3 of Dubai Airport. I was asked to take gold at Dubai Airport and deliver him in Bangalore. “
Ranya Rao further said, “This was the first time I smuggled by bringing Bangalore gold from Dubai. I had never bought gold from Dubai before this… Sona was in two plastic packets. I clung to the body in a room in the airport. I hid gold in my jeans and shoes. I learned to do so from YouTube. “
Ranya Rao has told that she does not know the man who called her or gave gold at Dubai Airport. He has told that he was a long man who went out of the airport soon after giving gold. This gold was given to Ranya Rao after completion of security check.
In the DRI inquiry, Ranya Rao has told that he had to keep gold in an auto at one place outside the airport. According to Ranya, an unknown man would come here to take gold. Ranya has told that he had no information about the man. Ranya has also claimed that this was the first time of gold smuggling and never smuggled before.
Ranya has said that earlier she has been going to America, Europe and the rest of the Gulf countries but these trips were for the rest of her works. Dri is extracting the rest of the information from Ranya Rao. It has not been known from Ranya Rao yet who else was involved in this smuggling business with him.
Meanwhile, a court in Bengaluru has ordered the petition of Ranya Rao’s stepfather and former DGP Ramchandra Rao. The Bengaluru court has said that now the media cannot publish or telecast any allegations or derogatory charges against Ranya Rao.
Ramchandra Rao claimed that the media was dragging his daughter’s name in fake allegations for TRP. Significantly, Ranya Rao was caught at Bangalore Airport with 14 kg smuggling gold.