Gold smuggling case: Bail plea of Kannada actress Ranya Rao adjourned till Mar 19
Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The bail petition of Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested in a gold smuggling case, has been adjourned until March 19.
The case was heard on Monday in the CCH 64th Court, which has directed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to file its objections before the next hearing. Further proceedings will continue after the submission of objections.
This follows the Special Court for Economic Offences rejecting Rao’s previous bail plea last week, citing the seriousness of the charges against her.
In a related development, the Karnataka High Court has extended its interim order preventing the DRI from arresting Rao's husband, Jatin Vijayakumar Hukkeri, in connection with the ongoing probe.
Meanwhile, the second accused in the case, hotelier Tarun Raju, has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days as investigations continue.
Authorities allege that Raju played a crucial role in facilitating the smuggling operation by managing the logistics of gold transportation and distribution within India.
Ranya, the stepdaughter of senior Karnataka IPS officer DGP K Ramachandra Rao, is currently lodged in Parappana Agrahara jail.
She was arrested on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after authorities seized 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from her possession.
Following her arrest, a raid at her residence led to the recovery of gold jewellery valued at Rs 2.06 crore and cash amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. Investigators suspect that she was part of a larger smuggling network.
Both Rao and Raju have been charged under the Customs Act and the Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act.
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IndiGo to operate 1,650 flights on Sunday, cancels 650
Mumbai (PTI): IndiGo is operating 1,650 flights of its 2,300 daily domestic and international flights on Sunday, and 650 remain cancelled for the day, amid the airline's operations gradually stabilising after massive disruptions in the last five days, the airline said.
IndiGo also said it is expecting to stabilise the network by December 10 against the earlier anticipated timeline of December 10-15.
In another development, the airline saw its on-time performance from six metro airports on Saturday improving to 20.7 per cent, as per the Civil Aviation Ministry website.
It operated more flights on Saturday at around 1,500 against about 800 cancellations.
The disruptions have resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in the last few days, causing hardships to thousands of passengers.
"Following the recent operational disruptions, IndiGo confirms that we are establishing further significant and sustained improvements across our network. On Sunday, we are on track to operate over 1,650 flights, up from around 1,500 flights on Friday," an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement.
Friday was the worst for the airline in its history as it cancelled around 1,600 flights in the wake of the crew shortage, following the implementation of the second phase of the court-mandated new flight duty and rest period norms, which are applicable to all domestic airlines, but have now been relaxed for IndiGo by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The spokesperson said the airline is making "very significant" progress in restoring its flight schedules and strengthening the customer support systems.
Also, cancellations were made at an earlier stage, allowing the airline to inform customers timelier, IndiGo said, adding that its teams are working to stabilise operations.
The refund and luggage process is in full action for direct and indirect bookings, it said while urging customers to check the latest flight status on its website before proceeding to the airport, as we are diligently working to improve our operations.
"We continue to work closely with all authorities and stakeholders to ensure a swift return to full normalcy," the spokesperson said.
