Bengaluru gold smuggling case: Ranya Rao sentenced to 1-year jail under Cofeposa Act, no bail allowed

Indian Express

5 days ago

The Advisory Board for the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (Cofeposa) Act has confirmed the Centre's April 22 detention order for Kannada actress Ranya Rao for a year in connection with the alleged Bengaluru gold smuggling case, and denied her bail for the duration of the jail term.
Her detention was subject to confirmation by the Cofeposa Act Advisory Board.
A source in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) confirmed that the Advisory Board's sentencing, and said a periodic review meeting would be held after three months. The imprisonment order is also applicable to businessman Sahil Sakariya Jain, 26, an alleged hawala dealer and associate of Rao, and Telugu actor Virat Konduru alias Tarun Konduru Raju, 36, a US passport holder.
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Finance issued the order for the detention of Ranya alias Harshavardini Ranya, 34, under the Cofeposa Act on April 22, at the request of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and following multiple bail rejections by the Special Court for Economic Offences.
The Cofeposa Act Advisory Board in Bengaluru, headed by Karnataka HC judge Justice K S Mudgal and comprising Justice E S Indiresh and Justice B S Shyam Prasad, recently confirmed the detention order of Ranya Rao and two others after arguments by counsels for the actress and officials of the Ministry of Finance.
An order must be served on them by authorities regarding the confirmation of the Centre's detention order by the Advisory Board, sources said.
Meanwhile, her bail plea is scheduled to come up in the Karnataka High Court next week. On May 12, Ranya Rao's mother, Rohini H P, challenged her daughter's detention under the Cofeposa Act by filing a habeas corpus plea in the Karnataka High Court.
The high court has adjourned the hearings on her bail plea multiple times while awaiting the decision of the Advisory Board. The court is scheduled to hear the habeas corpus plea next week.
Ranya Rao was granted default bail in the Customs Act case in which she was arrested in March this year. She has not paid the surety to avail herself of the bail due to her detention for a year under the Cofeposa Act.
On March 3, DRI arrested Rao at the Bengaluru airport upon her arrival from Dubai, and recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at more than Rs 12.56 crore from her possession. On March 9, DRI arrested Konduru.
DRI failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated timeframe, and she remained in custody due to ongoing proceedings under the Cofeposa Act, which allows for preventive detention of up to one year based solely on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and anti-smuggling laws.
Investigation revealed Ranya Rao's suspicious travel pattern, having visited Dubai alone 34 times between 2023 and 2025. Subsequent raids at her residence uncovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash, indicating the scale of the smuggling operation.
Rao also faces charges under sections 135 and 104 of the Customs Act, with proceedings under Section 108 also underway. Her legal counsel has accused DRI of document manipulation, and argued that the offences are compoundable.
Konduru was also denied bail in April. Although the court had granted default bail to both accused on procedural grounds, requiring two sureties each and a Rs 2 lakh bond, they were prohibited from leaving the country and warned against committing such offences again.