A special court for economic offences in Bengaluru on Friday rejected the bail application of actress Ranya Rao, who was recently arrested in a gold smuggling case..Special Judge Vishwanath Gowdar today pronounced the order. A detailed order is yet to be published..Senior Advocate Kiran Javali, who represented Ranya, had argued that Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials did not comply with Section 102 of the Customs Act and that the arrest memo was not issued. "The fact that she was recorded without being allowed to sleep does not constitute a spontaneous statement. The prosecution stated in the remand application that three people have been arrested. However, no information has been given about the remaining two.”Senior standing counsel Madhu N Rao, who represented the State, said that Ranya has been arrested under the Customs Act. "The law states that even if the act is not followed, there is a possibility of arrest if there is a prima facie case. There is a big network involved in gold smuggling and it needs to be busted. The forensic science laboratory records are awaited and the investigation is ongoing. Therefore, she should be denied bail," he argued..DRI officials had arrested Ranya at the Bengaluru International Airport on March 3 and seized 14.2 kg of gold worth ₹12.86 crore from her. It was alleged that Ranya used to carry the gold in her belt and jacket to evade inspection by customs officials. It is said that Ranya, the adopted daughter of a DGP-rank officer in the State, would use the VIP route in the airport to evade inspection.After a search was conducted at Ranya's house, DRI officials seized jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore and cash worth ₹2.67 crore, taking the total seizure in the case to ₹17.29 crore.Ranya, who was in DRI custody for three days, was sent to fifteen days of judicial custody by the court last Monday..The High Court had recently ordered against taking any hasty action against Ranya's husband Jatin Vijayakumar Hukkeri.It also restrained 39 media houses from telecasting, publishing or disseminating any defamatory statements against senior police officer K Ramachandra Rao (IPS), who is Ranya's stepfather..Karnataka High Court bars defamatory media statements against stepfather of actress Ranya Rao
