BJP leader Amit Malviya raised controversy on Wednesday by tweeting a photo with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested last week in a case of gold smuggling.
Malviya linked the case to the CM’s doorstep, stating, “The Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in Karnataka has now reached the doorstep of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.” He further added that the picture featured Home Minister G Parmeshwara and hit out at Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, saying, “Ironically, the man ruling out any political connection is none other than Congress’s CM-in-waiting, DK Shivakumar.”
The Ranya Rao gold smuggling case in Karnataka has now reached the doorstep of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. This dated photo also features the current Home Minister, G. Parmeshwara.
Ironically, the man dismissing any political links is none other than Congress’s CM-in-waiting,… pic.twitter.com/Wkn1n2Nnc3
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 12, 2025
But Shivakumar dismissed any political interference in the case, stating, “No minister is involved, we don’t know anything. It is all political gossip. Investigating officers will proceed as per the law. We have nothing to do with it.”
Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad reinforced Shivakumar’s words, saying, “It is being investigated by CBI, which is not in the hands of the state government but the central government. They have all the freedom to investigate, and if there is anything and anybody involved, let it come out. But we are very clear: nobody from the state government is involved in any kind of small criminal activity.”
Ranya Rao was picked up by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 from Kempegowda International Airport at Bengaluru on charges of smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai. DGP K Ramachandra Rao’s stepdaughter, she was produced before a special court for economic offenses on March 4 and sent to judicial custody until March 18.
While Rao said her Dubai visit was business-oriented, officials suspect it was linked to illegal gold smuggling. Her DRI custody was initially till March 10, but it was later extended till March 24 as the probe went on.
