Days after the arrest of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao’s step daughter and Kannada actress Ranya Rao in a gold smuggling case, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday ordered a probe into alleged protocol violations at Bengaluru airport.
He appointed Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka, as the investigating officer in the case. He will probe the protocol violations as well as the role of the senior IPS officer and submit a report within a week.
Ranya Rao is accused of misusing her name and courtesy services to evade airport security checks.
“As it has been reported in the media and newspapers for the past one week, the actress was illegally transporting gold bullion from Dubai to Bengaluru when she was arrested by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Also, the etiquettes given to the top officials at the airports were given to their father by the Director General of Police of the State IPS Group, the Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Dr K Ramachandra Rao, IPS,” an official order read.
It further stated: “In view of the points outlined in the proposal, Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka has been appointed as the investigating officer to investigate the facts and circumstances leading to the availment of the courtesy facilities and the role of Director General of Police, State IPS Squad, Managing Director, Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Corporation Shri Ramachandra Rao, IPS in this case. Investigators will begin an investigation immediately, and file an investigation report.”
Earlier this month, the actress was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Bengaluru International Airport. The DRI also reportedly recovered 14.8 kilograms of gold from her possesion.
She was produced before a special court for finacial offences and sent to judicial custody till March 18.