ED attaches assets worth over Rs 34 crore of Kannada actor Ranya Rao
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Jul 4 (PTI): Assets worth more than Rs 34 crore of Kannada actor Ranya Rao have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a gold smuggling-linked money-laundering case, officials said on Friday.
A residential house in Victoria Layout and a residential plot in Arkavathi Layout in Bengaluru, an industrial land in Tumkur and an agricultural land in Anekal taluk have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added.
These assets have a combined fair market value of Rs 34.12 crore, the officials said.
The federal probe agency had filed a PMLA case, taking cognisance of a CBI and DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) complaint into a larger gold-smuggling racket in India, including the case of Rao.
Rao, whose original name is Harshavardini Ranya, was arrested on March 3 at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after she arrived from Dubai. Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials detained her and recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at more than Rs 12.56 crore from her possession.
The actor's "involvement" in generating, possessing and circulating proceeds of crime was further corroborated by her digital footprint, including invoices, export declarations, foreign-remittance records and recorded chats, establishing her active role in the smuggling syndicate, the officials said.
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Odisha: BJD, Congress demand rollback of fuel price hike
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The opposition BJD and Congress on Friday demanded an immediate rollback of the fuel price hike, accusing the ruling BJP of adopting a "double standard" on the issue of GST on petrol and diesel.
The women's wing of the Congress staged a demonstration near a fuel station in Bhubaneswar, protesting the increase of Rs 3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJP had demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under the GST regime when it was in the opposition in the state, but was now taking a contradictory stand after coming to power.
"This is the time for the BJP to honour its earlier commitments and bring petrol and diesel under GST after withdrawing VAT. The party said one thing while in opposition, but after assuming power, it is misleading the people with a different stance," he alleged.
In a statement, the BJD claimed that fuel prices were not reduced even when international crude oil prices had fallen below USD 60 per barrel, allowing oil companies to earn massive profits at the expense of consumers.
"Now, when crude oil prices are rising, the BJP government has increased fuel prices by Rs 3 per litre to protect the profits of oil companies. This exposes the true character of the BJP," it alleged.
Ipsita Sahu, president of the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal, said the Centre should explain "under what pressure" it was being compelled to avoid cheaper fuel imports from Russia.
Meanwhile, Mahila Congress activists marched from the party's state headquarters to a fuel station in the Unit-2 area of Bhubaneswar, demanding rollback of the hike in petrol, diesel, commercial LPG and CNG prices.
As part of the protest, women activists brought two-wheelers without petrol to symbolically highlight the burden of rising fuel costs.
District Mahila Congress president Shriya Mohanty claimed the fuel price hike exposed the real nature of the BJP government.
"During the Manmohan Singh government in 2014, diesel was sold at Rs 55 per litre and petrol at Rs 70 per litre," she claimed.
