Special court rejects bail plea of Telugu actor Tarun Raju, Accused No 2 in Ranya Rao case
Judge Vishwanath C Gowdar noted that Tarun Raju allegedly helped Ranya Rao smuggle large quantities of gold from Dubai to India in breach of the Customs Act
BENGALURU: A special Bengaluru court on Wednesday rejected a bail application filed by Telugu actor Tarun Konduru Raju who was arrested on March 10 in connection with the gold smuggling case against his friend and co-accused, Kannada actor Ranya Rao.
Judge Vishwanath C Gowdar, who dismissed Raju’s bail plea, noted that Raju was alleged to have helped Rao smuggle large quantities of gold from Dubai to India in breach of the Customs Act. On March 14, the judge had also rejected Rao’s bail plea.
“Accused number 2 (Raju), is a US citizen and holds an OCI card that enabled him to travel to Geneva and Bangkok without a visa. He misused such privilege by wrongly declaring that the gold being carried by A1 (Accused No. 1, Ranya Rao) was meant to be exported to Bangkok and Geneva, but, instead, that gold was smuggled into India. This shows that A2 had the intention to commit the alleged crime of gold smuggling. Having assisted the accused number one in the smuggling activity, A2 acted in contravention of Section 138A of the Customs Act,” the court said.
Rao, stepdaughter of IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on March 3 after Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials found her in possession of 14.2 kg of gold bars worth ₹12.5 crore, upon her arrival from Dubai. Raju was taken into custody on March 10.
The DRI, which had opposed Tarun Raju’s bail application, had argued that Raju could flee the country if he was released on bail and that he did try to leave the country when Ranya Rao was caught. after which the central agency issued a look out circular against him.
If granted bail, there was every chance that Raju, a US citizen, might try to evade prosecution, the DRI argued.
According to DRI, Rao and Raju together made 26 trips to Dubai this year. Officials said Rao had made 56 trips to Dubai since 2023 and these trips could be linked to gold smuggling.
In its order on Wednesday, the special court noted that Raju was accused of making 25 or 26 day trips to Dubai, and that it was likely that the trips were made to smuggle gold.