‘Will name all ministers linked to Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in meeting’: BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal | Bengaluru News

BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal claims he’ll reveal names of ministers concerned in a gold smuggling case linked to actress Ranya Rao in the course of the Assembly session.

NEW DELHI: Karnataka BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal on Monday claimed that he’ll reveal the names of all ministers concerned in the high-profile gold smuggling case linked to Kannada actress Ranya Rao in the course of the upcoming Assembly session.
He asserted that he has gathered detailed details about Rao’s connections, those that facilitated her safety, and the mechanisms used to smuggle gold into the nation.
“I have collected all details about her relationships, who helped her get security, and how the gold was smuggled. I will expose everything in the Assembly. If someone is guilty, they must be held accountable. Can we defend someone just because they are a central government employee? There were lapses by customs officials, and necessary action should be taken against them. She had gold all over her body and smuggled it in,” Yatnal said.

Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar earlier dismissed allegations of ministerial involvement, calling them “political gossip.” He emphasised that the case is being dealt with by central businesses and that the state authorities has no function in the investigation.
“No minister is involved, we don’t know anything. It is all political gossip. Investigating officers will proceed as per the law. We have nothing to do with it,” Shivakumar mentioned.
Ranya Rao, 34, was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport after arriving from Dubai with 14.8 kg of gold bars value Rs 12.56 crore.
The following day, the DRI seized gold jewelry value Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in money from her Bengaluru residence. She is the stepdaughter of Karnataka DGP-rank officer Okay Ramachandra Rao, at present serving as Chairman and Managing Director of Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now registered an FIR in the case, with former Karnataka chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai calling for an intensive probe. Bommai insisted that gold smuggling at such a big scale will not be an remoted incident and demanded that the whole community be uncovered.
“A crime of this magnitude cannot happen without complicity at some level. The entire network must be uncovered, and a CBI probe will reveal who is responsible,” Bommai said. He additionally denied any hyperlinks to the allocation of land to Xiroda India Pvt. Ltd., the place Rao was a director, clarifying that the matter by no means reached the Chief Minister’s workplace throughout his tenure.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has ordered an investigation into allegations of protocol violations at Kempegowda International Airport and the attainable involvement of IPS officer Ramachandra Rao in facilitating the smuggling operation.
An official authorities order famous that Rao allegedly misused VIP courtesy companies to evade safety checks. The doc additionally highlighted that such privileges had been prolonged to her father, elevating considerations over a possible misuse of energy.
“It is reported that Mrs. Rao misused her name and courtesy services to evade checks at airports and conduct illegal activities. Therefore, the government considers it necessary to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding these privileges and the role of Shri Ramachandra Rao, IPS, in the case,” the order said.
During questioning, Ranya Rao claimed her Dubai journey was for enterprise, however investigators suspect she was half of a bigger gold smuggling community.
The DRI is now probing the function of businessman Tarun Raju in facilitating these operations. Rao was initially remanded to DRI custody till March 10, with a court docket allowing her lawyer to meet her each day for half an hour. She was later shifted to judicial custody till March 18.
Authorities additionally suspect Rao exploited protocol loopholes to bypass airport frisking. A supply revealed that she was usually met by protocol officers on the terminal and escorted out with out screening.
CCTV footage is being reviewed to examine if she had smuggled gold throughout earlier journeys, as information point out she revamped 10 worldwide journeys in the previous yr, a number of of them inside a brief span.