A sessions court in Bengaluru on Thursday denied bail to Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya, also known as Ranya Rao, in connection with a ₹12.56 crore gold smuggling case. This is the second time in two weeks that her bail has been rejected.
On March 14, a special court for economic offences had rejected her bail application. Before that, her bail request was turned down by the magistrate’s court.
The prosecution asserted that the actress had admitted to using hawala networks to finance gold purchases, further solidifying the case against her. Officials have also invoked Section 108 of the Customs Act, necessitating a judicial inquiry.
During the previous hearing, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) counsel Madhu Rao presented evidence linking her directly to the smuggling racket.
The case came to light on March 3 when Ranya was found in possession of gold bars worth ₹12.56 crore at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport upon her arrival from Dubai. Subsequent searches at her residence led to the seizure of gold jewellery valued at ₹2.06 crore and cash amounting to ₹2.67 crore. Following these discoveries, the Karnataka government placed DGP-rank officer K Ramachandra Rao, her stepfather, on compulsory leave, later questioning him over potential links to the smuggling network.
In a related development, businessman Sahil Sakariya Jain, the son of Mahendra Kumar Jain from Ballari, has been arrested by the DRI for alleged involvement in the smuggling case. Jain is accused of aiding in the disposal of the smuggled gold. He was presented before a magistrate on Wednesday and sent to four-day custody.
“Jain, a resident of Ballari, is the third suspect to be apprehended in the case. Before his arrest, Ranya Rao and her associate Tarun Kondaru Raju had already been taken into custody. According to the DRI, Jain played a crucial role in the illicit network by helping Rao sell the smuggled gold and allegedly receiving proceeds from multiple transactions,” said a senior police officer familiar with the investigation.
According to officials, Jain was detained by the DRI in the early hours of Thursday. Investigators in their arrest memo said that the suspect might continue facilitating the illegal trade if released. He has been charged under Section 135 (1) (b) of the Customs Act, 1962, with non-bailable offences punishable under various sub-sections of the Act, the police stated.
The probe intensified on March 9 when the DRI arrested Tarun Konduru Raju, also known as Virat Konduru, after forensic analysis of Ranya’s mobile phone and laptop exposed his involvement. Authorities allege that Rao financed gold purchases in Dubai through Konduru, who used his US passport to clear customs and smuggle the gold into Bengaluru.
Investigators also revealed that the actress had travelled to Dubai 27 times in 2025, with 25 of those being single-day trips, allegedly for smuggling gold into India. Officials are now tracking the source of funds used for the gold purchases and travel expenses, suspecting hawala transactions facilitated the illicit trade.