The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has reportedly arrested Tarun Raju, the grandson of Atria Hotel’s owner, in Bengaluru in connection with a gold smuggling case involving Kannada actor Ranya Rao.
Tarun Raju’s arrest came after Ranya Rao was detained at Kempegowda International Airport with gold bars worth ₹12.56 crore.
Tarun Raju was detained after investigators found his involvement in the smuggling case, India Today reported.
He was later produced before the special economic offences court in Bengaluru, which granted the DRI five days of custody for further questioning, the report added, citing unnamed sources.
Officials suspect that Raju and Ranya Rao were involved in a gold smuggling racket, operating together to bring gold from foreign countries.
Despite their reported fallout after Ranya’s marriage to architect Jatin Hukkeri, the report mentioned that they continued their illegal activities.
The agency found that Ranya had contacted Raju while smuggling gold from Dubai, a crucial link that led to his arrest. The DRI detained Raju two days ago, while Ranya was already in custody. Both suspects were later confronted by officials in an effort to uncover the full extent of their involvement.
Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation’s director general of police, Ramachandra Rao, has allegedly confessed to being involved in the crime.
Ranya has urged authorities to keep the investigation confidential, offering her full cooperation. As part of the DRI’s inquiry, officials searched her home, recovering gold jewellery valued at ₹2.06 crore and Indian currency worth ₹2.67 crore.
In a court hearing on Monday, Ranya Rao alleged that DRI officials “verbally abused” her whenever she refused to answer questions. However, the investigating officer (IO) denied these claims, assuring the judge that Ranya had not faced any harassment from the officials.
In reply, the judge questioned, “You were given 30 minutes to consult your lawyer. Why didn’t you inform them? Why didn’t they file a petition about this?”
Ranya further alleged that she was coerced into signing documents.
“I have fully cooperated with the investigation. I refused to sign only on the third day, but after that, I cooperated,” she told the judge.
Karnataka additional chief secretary Gaurav Gupta will investigate the role of DGP-level officer Ramachandra Rao in the gold smuggling case.