Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has reinstated senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Dr K Ramachandra Rao as Director General of Police (DGP) in the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement. His return comes several months after he was placed on compulsory leave over an ongoing gold smuggling case linked to his daughter, actor Ranya Rao.
According to a government order issued on Monday, the earlier directive sending Rao, a 1993-batch IPS officer, on leave was cancelled with immediate effect. The appointment is to an upgraded, unfilled role carrying the same rank and duties as the DGP, Criminal Investigation Department, Special Units and Economic Offences in Bengaluru.
IPS officer stepped aside Ranya was accused in gold smuggling case
In March this year, when DGP Rao was heading the Karnataka Police Housing Corporation, he was told to step aside after his daughter’s arrest at Bengaluru airport.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) claims she was caught attempting to smuggle 14.2kg of gold from Dubai. She was reportedly accompanied by a police constable assigned to handle protocol duties for IPS officers. The constable told investigators he had standing orders to meet her after overseas arrivals, but insisted he was unaware of any gold being carried.
The case is being jointly examined by the DRI, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which have all flagged national security implications.
Ranya Rao’s statement from Bengaluru Central Prison
Ranya, who remains in custody, has denied that her father had any role in the alleged offence. In a letter dated March 6, to the DRI’s Additional Director General, sent via the Chief Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison, she alleged she had been “falsely implicated” and mistreated during her arrest.
She claimed she was detained on board the aircraft, slapped several times, and threatened that her father would be publicly named unless she signed pre-prepared papers.
According to her account, she was made to sign 50–60 typed sheets and 40 blank ones under pressure, without any formal seizure mahazar being carried out. She further alleged that “certain individuals from Delhi, said to be officers, clearly wanted to protect some other passengers and frame me instead.”
