In a fresh development in the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case, the Special Court for Economic Offences on Wednesday sent Sahil Jain, the third accused in the case, to 14-day judicial custody. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) presented him before the court on Wednesday after his custody period ended, as reported by ANI.
Ranya Rao Approaches Karnataka HC For Bail
A day before, Kannada actress Ranya Rao approached the Karnataka High Court for bail after her plea was rejected by three subordinate courts one after another in the gold smuggling case.
Ranya Rao's advocate B S Girish, has filed the bail petition in the Karnataka High Court.
On March 27, the 64th CCH Sessions Court in Bengaluru rejected her bail plea, following an earlier denial by the Special Court for Economic Offences on March 14. Prior to this, the Magistrate Court had also refused her bail request, citing the gravity of the charges against her.
During a previous hearing, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) informed the court that Ranya Rao had admitted to purchasing gold illegally using hawala money.
All About The Case
On March 3, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) apprehended Ranya Rao at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) with 14.8 kilograms of gold worth rupees 12.56 crore. After a preliminary investigation, the authorities alleged that the gold bars were smuggled from Dubai.
Following her arrest, police teams also raided her Lavelle Road apartment and recovered more gold. Police suspected that Ranya took advantage of her stepfather's official designation in bypassing scrutiny at customs in the airport.
On March 4, Ranya was produced before a special court for financial offences where she was remanded to judicial custody until March 18. As per reports, Ranya made four trips to Dubai within a span of 15 days which points to her possible involvement in a larger smuggling network.
