Gold smuggling case: Court rejects Kannada actor Ranya's bail plea
Bengaluru, Mar 14 (PTI): A Special Court of Economic Offences here on Friday rejected the bail plea of gold smuggling accused Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao.The second accused in the case, Tarun Raju, has been remanded to judicial custody for 15 days as probe continues.
Ranya, stepdaughter of DGP rank officer K Ramachandra Rao, is presently lodged in the Parappana Agrahara Jail here.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport when she arrived here from Dubai on March 3.
Subsequent searches conducted by DRI at her residence led to the recovery of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore.
During interrogation, authorities discovered that Tarun Raju was involved in facilitating the smuggling operation, allegedly coordinating the gold’s transport and distribution within India.
Both were taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Customs Act and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
