Pramesh S Jain & Yogesh K Porwar
T
he Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has expanded the probe to identify the larger syndicate behind actor Ranya Rao,who was arrested for smuggling gold into the country,sources said on Thursday.
The DRI officials sought the custody of the accused citing she is part of the international syndicate and during the two days probe with the her call record details and laptops , some vital information was gathered , which needs to be corroborated .
Objecting to the bail application on Thursday the DRI officials said that the accused had visited Dubai many times in a short span of time and misused official protocol.
The accused had even met many people and not carried the gold in her bag but like a professional concealed the gold bars in body part .
The gold bars,sources said,weighed around 1 kg and were stuck using adhesive tape and crepe bandages. Trousers were worn over them to conceal them,they said,adding that the modus showed Ranya had done the same at least a few times previously.
The custody is requires as part of the national security perspective.She is suspected to be part of the international syndicate and granting bail would hamper further investigations, the advocate representing DRI, told the court .
The DRI suspects that Ranya is a mule and that a larger syndicate is behind her.The Central DRI team,which made the arrest, is also probing Ranya’s local network and how she disposed of the smuggled gold.
Ranya also allegedly misused her DGP stepfather K Ramachandra Rao’s protocol by using a police staff from the Airport police station to escort her out soon after she landed and used VIP channels to exit the terminal to minimise frisks and checks.
“Generally,based on threat perception or if the senior officer is in a high-risk role or posted in a sensitive area, the security and escort are extended to his family,”a senior police officer in Karnataka opined.
Extending escorts to families of officers for non-official purposes are frowned upon as they give an impression of VIP culture.”
Ranya,who is currently in judicial custody moved to the Economic Offences Court on Thursday seeking bail.At the same time,the DRI objected and sought her custody for further interrogation as they “recovered evidence following her arrest”needing corroboration.
DRI also cited “national security” when seeking the custody and informed the court that it coulnd’t publicly reveal certain “senstive information” that would “jeopardise the probe”but would provide “key evidence” in sealed cover.
The court has reserved the order for Friday and will decide whether to grant Ranya bail or give her custody to the DRI.
Ranya was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Monday after she landed from Dubai via an Emirates flight.The DRI said it had received a tip-off that she was smuggling gold.
