The Karnataka gold smuggling case involving popular actress Ranya Rao has paved way for a full-blown political war between the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP with accusations and counter-accusations heating up the political temperature.
The case involving the step-daughter of a senior IPS officer has already ruffled many political feathers in the southern state.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao and her business partner Tarun Raju, arrested in the gold smuggling case, were sent to DRI custody for 15 and five days, respectively, on Monday.
The DRI alleged that Ranya Rao was not cooperating with the investigations and further custodial interrogation was necessary to unravel the scope, width, and depth of the involvement of others, suspected politicians from across the political aisle, government and police officials, in the gold smuggling case.
The second person arrested in the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case, Tarun Raju is the son of a businessman and is said to have procured gold for the actress in the Gulf, where the actress made frequent trips.
The central investigating agencies, including the CBI, are also investigating the angle of possible involvement of officials, police and security personnel in facilitating the smuggling racket.
On Monday afternoon, when Ranya was produced before the magistrate, she alleged that she was being harassed and ill-treated by the investigators, a charge that was flatly denied by the officials who maintained that the entire interrogation was done under CCTV and the footing could be presented if needed.
While the investigators have got custody of the two accused, the information so far coming out has sparked off political war between the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the opposition BJP in the state, with the latter going as far as to allege that a very powerful senior Congress leader and minister was behind the actress.
The investigators have seized the electronic devices of the actress and are analysing the data, following which it is being alleged that she had access to politicians from across the political spectrum, which has sparked off a round of accusations and counter accusations between the two national political parties – the Congress and the BJP.
The actress is said to have tried to contact a minister while in custody at the airport. With her phone already under the custody of the investigators, the call details and the frequency of her calls contained therein is causing sleepless nights to many politicians.
Meanwhile, the Congress claimed the previous regime headed by Basavaraj Bommai had been indulgent towards the actress, allotting a huge tract of land for her factory, the BJP leaders have begun alleging involvement of Congress minister, or ministers, and are seeking a thorough investigation into the whole affair.
While allegations are flying thick and fast, many politicians and officials could be spending sleepless nights, nervous of what the investigations might reveal.
In a bid to distance the party from the scandal, Congress MLAs alleged that the previous BJP regime allotted 12 acres of land to her company which was just one year and few months old.
But, senior BJP leader S Prakash, told The Statesman, that the question was as to how Ramya Rao was allowed to carry on with the alleged smuggling trips and how police personnel was allowed to help her escape frisking and checking at the airport.
“Everyone who is involved must be brought to book and the nation must know who all are involved. Right now, the Karnataka government is very nervous and scared as to what investigations would reveal,” the senior BJP leader said and added, the police officer, the father of the actress, has not even been suspended.
“A very powerful man could be behind her,” Prakash said without revealing his information or suspicions, saying that “we must wait for the investigations as to what they will throw up. “The same Powerful man could be behind the land allotment to Ramya Rao and he was influential even during the previous regime,” is what the BJP leader told the Statesman.
What matters is not the matter of land allotment, what matters is how she is allowed to go abroad so many times and bring gold into India without being frisked. Who was supporting her and behind her.. We should speak about today and not what happened a few years ago. That is at a later stage, the senior BJP leader Prakash said.
“Once the name of the person who is behind Ramya Rao comes out, everything will be solved,” Prakash said in a clear-cut indication of the importance of the case, and its likely future fall out and impact on the Karnataka government. “Why is the senior officer whose daughter has been arrested in the gold smuggling case has been allowed to function in office,” Prakash questioned.
What are the links and are there any international implications of the case, needs to be gone into thoroughly, the BJP leader said to find out if there was a big international gold smuggling network in operation.
In another side tussle the investigations, the Congress has questioned as to why the CBI did not even take the permission of the state government before commencing investigations. It had not sought any permission as is mandated, said State home minister G Parameshwara. But the Karnataka government has decided not to make an issue out of it at present, and would react once the CBI filed its reports.