Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court reserved, till Friday, the order on the bail petition submitted by Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested in a gold smuggling case, while the counsel for the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sought three days custody of the actress.
The Economic Offences court reserved its order following the arguments and counterarguments over the case. The counsel representing the DRI submitted that the actress needed to be investigated on matters concerning national security implications and to break the syndicate of gold smuggling.
Ranya Rao is presently in judicial custody and has moved a bail petition.
The DRI, in its submission, that her custody is required from March 9 to March 11 to conduct a multi-pronged probe as the involvement of an extensive smuggling syndicate is suspected. It was also submitted to the court that requests of bail should not be entertained in sensitive cases such as this.
The counsel further stated that certain matters related to the case can’t be disclosed in an open court and the DRI would make a submission over the findings of the probe in a sealed cover to the court, otherwise it would harm the investigation.
The DRI stated that it needs to be investigated on where the gold was supposed to reach. Ranya Rao was used as a delivery girl and her custody was required to investigate the role of other persons in the case, it said.
The counsel stated that the DRI has been able to make significant progress in the investigation since the arrest of the actress on Monday night and the law allowed the custody of the accused persons in such cases up to 40 days. The counsel also quoted the Supreme Court ruling in this regard.
On the other hand, the counsel for Ranya Rao contended that her custody was not required.
Sources also stated that Ranya Rao has claimed in the investigation that she was blackmailed and forced to transport the gold and she was indulging in such an act for the first time.
However, sources stated that she was under watch for a long period after suspicious frequent Dubai trips.
The DRI officials had taken Ranya Rao into custody after seizing 14.8 kg of gold from her at the Bengaluru International Airport on Monday night. The agency had seized Rs 2.06 crore worth of gold and Rs 2.67 crore in cash from her upscale Lavelle Road flat, where she reportedly paid Rs 4.5 lakh in rent.
(IANS)
