Kannada actress Ranya Rao admits to possession of 17 gold bars: DRI
Bengaluru, Mar 7 (PTI): Kannada actress Ranya Rao has confessed to the recovery of 17 gold bars from her possession, sources in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said.
Ranya, the stepdaughter of DGP K Ramachandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 by DRI officials.
Rao is currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
According to officials, she disclosed that she had travelled to Europe, America, and the Middle East, including Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
She stated that she is the daughter of K S Hegdesh, a businessman in the real estate sector.
Ranya also revealed that she studied up to the 12th standard and has worked as a film artiste and a wildlife photographer.
The actress said she lives with her husband, Jatin Hukkeri, an architect, in Bengaluru.
On Friday, a special court for economic offences granted the DRI three days’ custody of the actress, who was detained at Bengaluru airport for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of gold from Dubai.
Investigators revealed that Ranya (identified in her passport as Harshavardini Ranya) had travelled to Dubai 27 times in the last six months, raising concerns about the purpose of these frequent visits.
According to DRI officials, gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from the 34-year-old actress at the airport. Subsequent searches at her residence led to the recovery of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore.
The total seizure in the case stood at Rs 17.29 crore, including assets worth Rs 4.73 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks.
Officials claimed that the 14.2 kg haul is one of the largest gold seizures at Bengaluru airport in recent times.
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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.
