Ranya Rao's bail plea adjourned till April 17
What's the story
The hearing of Kannada actor Ranya Rao's bail plea has been adjourned by the Karnataka High Court till April 17.
The court directed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to file its objections on Wednesday.
Rao, along with Tarun Raju and Sahil Jain, are accused in a ₹12.56 crore gold smuggling case. Their judicial custody had been extended till April 21 earlier.
Investigation
Gold smuggling case details and arrests
The gold smuggling case surfaced on March 3 after Rao was detained at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport with 14.8kg of gold allegedly smuggled from Dubai.
Investigations revealed she undertook 45 solo visits to Dubai between 2023 and 2025, prompting authorities to suspect her links to a broader smuggling network.
Further inquiries revealed her links with Vira Diamonds Trading, a Dubai-based company she co-founded in 2023 with actor-businessman Raju.
Involvement
Raju and Jain's roles in the smuggling operation
Raju, alias Virat Konduru, was held after investigators found that he bought gold in Dubai and assisted in its illegal transportation to India.
Jeweler Jain was also named in the case. He allegedly assisted Rao in selling nearly 49kg of smuggled gold worth over ₹40 crore.
Jain allegedly managed hawala transactions, moving huge sums of money to Dubai and taking commissions for his part.
Evidence
DRI's evidence against the accused
The DRI submitted sufficient evidence linking all three accused to the smuggling ring.
Previously, the court had denied Raju bail, noting the severity of the economic offense and the possibility of his fleeing as he frequently traveled abroad.
Officials found additional gold jewelry worth ₹2.06 crore and ₹2.67 crore cash during a raid at Rao's Bengaluru residence, totaling ₹17.29 crore seized.