A special court granted bail to Kannada actor Ranya Rao, arrested for gold smuggling, but she remains jailed under Cofeposa. Her associate, Tarun Raju, also received bail.

BENGALURU: A special court in the city for economic offences granted bail Tuesday to Kannada actor Ranya Rao, daughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao and arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on charges of smuggling gold.Rao, however, cannot walk out of the jail as she has been booked under Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (Cofeposa), which mandates a prison period of one year without bail. Bail for Ranya’s associate Her alleged associate Tarun Raju was also granted bail. Earlier, courts repeatedly turned down the bail petitions of Rao and Raju. As DRI failed to file chargesheet within the stipulated 60 days, counsel for the accused approached the court seeking statutory bail.Ranya has to remain in the judicial custody of Bengaluru Central Prison as the Union govt invoked the stringent anti-smuggling law.The court directed the two to provide surety of two persons and a bond of Rs 2 lakh each. Rao’s counsel Kiran Javali said they approached the HC, challenging Cofeposa. “The matter is listed for June 3 for the Centre to file objections,” he said.Rao was arrested on March 3 this year at Kempegowda International Airport soon after she flew down from Dubai. That day, DRI sleuths seized 14.2kg gold bars from her.