Ramchandra Rao, senior police officer and step-father of actor Ranya Rao, who has been accused in a gold smuggling case, was questioned today. His written statement is being taken and Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta, who is leading the inquiry team, has to submit his report within two days.
Ramchandra Rao was sent on "compulsory leave" days after the actor's arrest. The order did not specify any reason.
Investigations have indicated that Ranya Rao could skip stringent security check by using the VIP exit that was facilitated by her step-father, a DGP rank officer.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which is investigating the case, has told a court that the Police Protocol Officer.
The DRI said on March 3, the day she was arrested just a few steps to the exit gate of the Bengaluru airport, she was being escorted by the State Protocol Officer. She had passed through the immigration and the Green Channel with the help of the State Protocol Office, and alleged the department was involved.
The 33-year-old was caught carrying 14.8 kg of gold, concealed in her clothing.
After Ranya Rao's arrest, Ramchandra Rao had sought to distance himself from her, claiming that she has not kept in touch with her family since her marriage. "I have valued my work above all else with a commitment to serving people and upholding my responsibilities. It is deeply distressing that, despite this lifelong dedication, my reputation and family's future are now being tarnished by something beyond our control," he had said in a statement.
Her bail petition has been adjourned until March 19. The Karnataka High Court has extended its interim order preventing the DRI from arresting Rao's husband, Jatin Vijayakumar Hukkeri.
Following Ranya Rao's arrest, a search of her home in Bengaluru's Lavelle Road yielded gold jewellery worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore," the DRI has said.
Ranya Rao is currently lodged in Parappana Agrahara jail.
The investigating agencies have alleged that the actor, who has been to Dubai 27 times in the last six months, has the Resident Identity Card of the UAE.
Three agencies are probing the case - the DRI, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the wider smuggling network and its operators, and the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the hawala channel.
