Gold smuggling case: Actress Ranya Rao, Tarun Raju granted default bail, but are still in jail

Dubai: The Special Court for Economic Offences on Tuesday granted default bail to actress Ranya Rao and co-accused Tarun Konduru Raju in connection with a major gold smuggling case. However, according to a report in The New Indian Express, the two will remain behind bars as they have been detained under the stringent COFEPOSA Act, which allows for preventive detention in cases involving smuggling and foreign exchange violations.

Ranya Rao, who appeared in Kannada films like Maanikya and Pataki, is best remembered for playing the bubbly girl-next-door in a handful of commercial entertainers in the mid-2010s. Her alleged involvement in a high-value smuggling case has come as a shock to many in the industry.

On March 3 and 4, DRI officials arrested Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport, seizing 14.21 kg of gold bars valued at Rs120 million.

A follow-up raid on her residence led to the recovery of Rs21 million in unaccounted cash and jewellery worth Rs20 million Tarun Raju was taken into custody and produced in court on March 9.

Judge Vishwanath C Gowdar granted default bail under Section 187(3)(ii) of the BNSS, noting that both accused were eligible since the DRI had not filed a charge sheet within the mandated 60-day period. The accused were initially booked under the Customs Act, where the alleged offences carry a punishment of less than seven years, making them eligible for bail by default.

The bail is contingent on each furnishing a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh, with two sureties of the same amount, and adhering to strict conditions:

The judge cautioned that any breach of these terms would lead to immediate cancellation of bail.

Despite the bail, Ranya and Raju remain incarcerated due to separate detention orders issued under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), a preventive detention law used in grave economic offences.