A SESSIONS court in Bengaluru on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao in the gold smuggling case . This was for the third time when Ranya failed to get the court relief. According to the prosecution, Ranya admitted to using hawala channels to facilitate gold purchases. In response, the authorities have issued a notice to initiate a judicial investigation, which they believe will uncover further financial irregularities. The case also involves Tarun Raj, an aide of the actor, who has been named as the second accused. Officials claim that Ranya handed over the smuggled gold to a merchant named Sahil Jain, who was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday.

 

This brings the total number of arrests in the case to three . During the hearing, DRI lawye r Madhu Rao revealed that Ranya and Raj made approximately 26 trips to Dubai together, ofte n departing in the morning and returning the same evening. Befor e her arrest, the actor allegedly booked a flight ticket for Raj, who then handed over the gold to her in Dubai. Gold bars worth Rs 12.56 cror e were seized from Ranya, the stepdaughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao at Kempegowd a International Airport on March 3 upon her arrival from Dubai