Bengaluru :  Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has taken a jibe at BJP National President Amit Shah by stating that  "We have the capability to douse the fire which  Shah may  ignite  by  vesting the state any number of times."

Speaking to reporters after receiving the Man of the Year Award conferred  by the Press Club here on December 31, Sunday, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka is a land of harmony where the BJP leaders are trying to sow the seeds of hatred through communalism. But people of the state will not give scope for this, he added.

The State government is striving to build a land of equality as  per the aspirations of the great Sufi saints and Sharanas  who lived in this land in the past. There is no room for  communal or caste hated here, he declared.

Politics needs good people :  "Good people, whoever they may be, can enter politics, there is nothing wrong in it." The Chief Minister said while reacting to actor Rajanikanth's decision to enter politics.  He also greeted people of the state on the occasion of New Year.

 

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Bengaluru, Apr 03 (PTI): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said jeweller Sahil Sakariya Jain played a key role in assisting Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya, also known as Ranya Rao, in disposing of 49.6 kg of smuggled gold worth 40.14 crore.

According to the DRI’s remand note, Jain not only helped facilitate the illegal transaction but also abetted Ranya in hawala money transfers linked to the smuggling operation.

Jain, a jeweller by profession, was arrested on March 26 for assisting Ranya in the gold smuggling case.

He has been remanded to judicial custody until April 7.

Jain not only helped Ranya in allegedly disposing of the gold but also appeared to have facilitated Hawala money transactions.

"It appears that he assisted and abetted Accused No. 1 in disposing of approximately 49.6 kg of gold worth 40,13,59,374. He has also admitted to aiding A1 in transferring Hawala money amounting to around 38,39,97,000 to Dubai and 1,73,61,787 to A1 in Bengaluru," the DRI stated.

The agency further noted that the unaccounted cash of 2.67 crore seized from Ranya’s residence on March 4, as per the ‘Mahazar’ , was likely Hawala money she received as profit from purchasing gold in Dubai and selling it in Bengaluru.

The DRI added that Jain admitted to receiving a commission of 55,000 for each transaction.

"The voluminous evidence extracted from two mobile phones and a laptop belonging to Sahil Sakariya Jain further establishes his role in the smuggling of large quantities of gold into India by A1 ," the DRI stated.

According to the agency, in January 2025, Jain helped Ranya dispose of 14.568 kg of gold worth 11.56 crore and facilitated the transfer of 11.01 crore in Hawala transactions to Dubai.

Additionally, he admitted to transferring 55 lakh in Bengaluru.

In February, Jain allegedly assisted Ranya in disposing of 13.433 kg of gold worth 11.81 crore.

During the same month, he helped transfer 11.25 crore in Hawala funds to Dubai and 55.81 lakh to Ranya in Bengaluru.

Ranya, the stepdaughter of a DGP-rank officer in Karnataka, was arrested on March 3, shortly after returning from Dubai at Kempegowda International Airport.

The DRI officials seized 14.7 kg of gold from her possession.

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