Kannada film actress Ranya Rao has been sentenced to one year in prison under the stringent law COFEPOSA in a gold smuggling case.
The Advisory Board handling the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) case recently ruled that Rao will not be granted bail during the entire period of his custody.
Earlier, Rao, along with his co-accused Tarun Raju, was granted default bail by a city court on May 20 after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) failed to file a chargesheet within the legally prescribed deadline.
Despite being granted bail on a bond and bail conditions of Rs 2 lakh, both Ranya and Tarun had to remain in custody due to preventive detention orders under COFEPOSA, which allows detention for up to a year even without formal charges based on suspicion of trafficking activities.
In March, Ranya Rao arrived here from Dubai and attempted to pass through the green channel of the Kempegowda International Airport, which is usually reserved for passengers who do not have dutiable baggage.
When DRI officials asked her if she had any undeclared items, she appeared worried. Due to his suspicious behavior the authorities conducted a thorough search of him by female officers.
A total of 14.2 kg of gold, worth approximately Rs 12.56 crore, was recovered from him and he was immediately taken into custody. Ranya’s earlier bail pleas were rejected twice by local courts and later by the Karnataka High Court.