‘Case reached doorstep of Karnataka CM’: Amit Malviya shares Ranya Rao’s picture with Siddaramaiah

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya on Wednesday shared a picture of actress Ranya Rao, who is accused in an alleged gold smuggling case, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and said that this case has now reached the CM’s doorstep.

In a post on X, Amit Malviya with the hashtag “Congress Gold Field” said, “The Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in Karnataka has now reached the doorstep of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. This dated photo also features the current Home Minister, G Parmeshwara. Ironically, the man dismissing any political links is none other than Congress’s CM-in-waiting, DK Shivakumar”.

On Tuesday, Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad asserted that no one from the state government is involved in criminal activity. Arshad said that the smuggling case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which comes under the central government.

“It is being investigated by CBI, which is not under the control of the state government but the central government. They have all the freedom to investigate, and if there is anything and anybody involved, let it come out. But we are very clear: nobody from the state government is involved in any kind of small criminal activity”, the Congress leader said. “Why would a minister get involved in something like that…BJP should not stoop down so low”, he added.

The Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in Karnataka has now reached the doorstep of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. This dated photo also features the current Home Minister, G. Parmeshwara.

Ironically, the man dismissing any political links is none other than Congress’s CM-in-waiting,… pic.twitter.com/Wkn1n2Nnc3

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 12, 2025

This comes after BJP leaders raised allegations of the involvement of Karnataka ministers. Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta has been appointed as the investigating officer in this case. The Chief Minister has instructed that the report be submitted within a week.

It is alleged that actress Ranya Rao misused her name and the courtesy services offered to her to “evade” airport checks and conduct “illegal” activities.

The official order read, “As it has been reported in the media and newspapers for the past week that the actress Ranya Rao was illegally transporting gold bullion from Dubai to Bangalore when the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested her. Also, the etiquettes given to the top officials at the airports were given to their father by the Director General of Police of the State IPS Group, the Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Dr K Ramachandra Rao, IPS”.

“It is reported that Rao has misused her name and the courtesy services offered to her to evade checks at airports and conduct illegal activities. Therefore, the government considers it necessary to investigate the facts and circumstances leading to the availment of courtesy facilities and the role of Shri Ramachandra Rao, IPS, Director General of Police, State IPS Squad, Managing Director, Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Corporation, in this case”, it said.

Investigating officer Gaurav Gupta will investigate the facts and circumstances leading to the availment of the courtesy facilities and the role of IPS Rao in this case.

Notably, actress Ranya Rao was arrested on March 3 by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai. Ranya, the stepdaughter of DGP K Ramachandra Rao, was produced before a special court judge on the evening of March 4 for financial offences.

On March 4, Ranya Rao was produced before a special court for financial offences and was remanded to judicial custody until March 18. Prior to her transfer to custody, she underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru. During her questioning, Rao claimed that her trip to Dubai was for business purposes. However, authorities suspect that her visit was linked to the illegal importation of gold. Then, she was remanded to the custody of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) until March 10, which was extended till March 24. (ANI)