Who is Ranya Rao? Kannada actress arrested for smuggling gold from Dubai

Before becoming a film actor, Chikmagalur native Ranya Rao studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru.  In 2014, she made her acting debut in Kannada film Maanikya as an affluent young woman and the protagonist's love interest. 

Ranya Rao

Ranya Rao, a native of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before joining the film business.  She made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film Maanikya, in which she played an affluent young woman and the protagonist's love interest.  The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detained Kannada actress Ranya Rao, daughter of Director General of Police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on March 3 on accusations of alleged gold smuggling.  On Tuesday, she appeared before a special court judge for financial violations, who put her in judicial detention for 14 days.  At the airport, the actress was caught with 14.8 kg of gold.  

Who is Ranya Rao?  

Ranya is well-known for her appearances in films like Manikya and Pataki. According to several media accounts, she is DGP Rao's stepdaughter. Ranya, a native of Chikmagalur, Karnataka, studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before joining the film business.

She made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film Maanikya, directed and starring Sudeep, in which she played an affluent young woman and the protagonist's love interest. She made her debut in Tamil cinema in 2016 with the film Wagah, which starred Vikram Prabhu. In 2017, she returned to Kannada film with Pataki, co-starring with actor Ganesh as a journalist. Her Facebook bio describes her as a "seeker, traveller, star gazer, and a sunset lover."

About Ranya Rao's arrest

Ranya was arrested on Monday night and brought before a special court for economic offences, where she was sentenced to 14 days in judicial detention. According to authorities, she arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had being monitored owing to her frequent overseas travel. Investigators discovered that she reportedly smuggled the gold by wearing significant amounts of it and hiding gold bars within her garments. Authorities got concerned after discovering that she had visited Dubai four times in 15 days, forcing them to undertake a targeted operation when she returned.  

Preliminary investigations indicate that Ranya may have sought to exploit her contacts to avoid customs scrutiny. According to reports, upon arrival, she presented herself as the daughter of Karnataka's Director General of Police and requested that local police take her home. Officials are also investigating if any law enforcement personnel, including her IPS relative, were aware of her actions or were unintentionally supporting her. According to reports, officials are examining whether she operated alone or as part of a wider smuggling network operating between Dubai and India.