Kannada film actress Ranya Rao has been sent to judicial custody till March 24. Ranya was recently caught smuggling more than 14 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. After this, gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency worth Rs 2.67 crore were seized during a search at Ranya's house. But what have DRI and CBI found out so far in the investigation of this case? Who leaked the information that Ranya Rao is bringing gold? How did Ranya escape airport checks every time? Did the DGP-rank officer and Ranya's stepfather know about Ranya's misdeeds? How did Ranya's company get approval for government land so easily? Which leaders of Karnataka were in contact with Ranya Rao, is CBI going to tighten its grip on them too? And why is such a large amount of gold smuggled from Dubai or Gulf countries? Let us know the answers to all these questions in our explainer.

Who is Ranya Rao?

Ranya Rao is a model and film actress. However, her film career did not last long. Ranya, who started her film career with the Kannada film Manikya in 2014, said goodbye to the film world in just three years. Ranya, who entered the film screen with the role of a second heroine in Manikya, got the lead role in the Tamil film Wagah. After that, in 2017, she got the role of a second heroine in the Kannada film Pataki. But neither of these three films were successful nor did Ranya get any recognition. Her film career ended in the year 2017. After that she has not got any work till now.

Father is a DGP rank officer

Talking about Ranya Rao's personal life, she is a resident of Chikmagalur in Karnataka, she also has a sister. After the death of her father, her mother married DGP rank IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, who is currently posted as the Chairman of the Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Board in the state. In this way, Ramachandra Rao became Ranya's stepfather. Four months ago, Ranya married Jatin Hukkeri, an architect by profession, and after this she started living in a private apartment on Level Road in Bangalore. Ranya's house is on the 3rd floor of this apartment, whose monthly rent is Rs 4.5 lakh.

How did she come under suspicion?

In the interrogation by DRI so far, Ranya Rao has told that after not getting work in films, she started working as a freelance consultant in real estate, due to which she had to travel to different countries of the world. Most of her clients are in Dubai. That is why Ranya had to go to Dubai many times. DRI has said in its argument in the court regarding this case that Ranya went to Dubai 28 times in the last 1 year. Ranya started getting suspicious in the eyes of DRI when Ranya traveled to Dubai 4 times in 15 days. DRI became suspicious of Ranya's activities and started keeping an eye on her, after which she was caught for the fifth time.