Yet, the actress will have to stay in jail
BENGALURU: Sandalwood actress Ranya Rao (33) was on Tuesday granted bail by the Special Court for Economic Offences, Bengaluru along with her partner-in-crime Tarun Kondaraju. The bail has been granted to the actress and co-accused on two sureties each and Rs 2 lakh bond. She is the daughter of senior IPS officer Dr K. Ramachandra Rao.
However, Ranya Rao will remain in Prison since she has been booked under The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA) for her alleged involvement in a gold smuggling case from abroad. The COFEPOSA against Ranya Rao has been challenged by her mother in the High Court and the hearing is scheduled on June 3.
While granting bail to Ranya Rao, the Special Court for Economic Offences imposed conditions on the actress that she cannot leave the country and directed her not to involve in similar offences.
Ranya Rao was successfully intercepted by sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Devanahalli near Bengaluru city on March 3 on her arrival from Dubai.
Acting on a specific information, DRI officials examined the actress and discovered ingeniously concealed foreign origin gold bars weighing 14.2 kg valued at Rs 12.56 crore. The contraband was seized and the actress was booked under provisions of Customs Act, 1962.
After her arrest, DRI sleuths conducted a search at her residence at Lavelle Road in Bengaluru city and came across gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore. The total seizure made by DRI sleuths was Rs 17. 29 crore.
After the successful interception of Ranya Rao, DRI termed it “one of the biggest seizures of gold at Bengaluru International Airport in recent times.”
