The name of IPS Ramachandra Rao has come into the spotlight after Ranya Rao was detained with her being his second wife’s daughter
Officials stated on Tuesday that Kannada film actor Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 14.8 kg of gold valued at over Rs 12 crore from Dubai.
Who is IPS K Ramachandra Rao, Karnataka Police DGP and step-father of Sandalwood actress Ranya Rao, biography, age, wife, daughter and batch
Ramachandra Rao is an IPS officer who is currently the Director General of Police (DGP) at the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. He is the stepfather of Ranya Rao with him and Ranya’s biological mother getting married after divorcing their respective partners.
Kannada actor & DGP's daughter held at Kempegowda International Airport with 14 kg gold in belt.
Sandalwood actor Ranya Rao, daughter of Director General of Police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, was arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths at… pic.twitter.com/yF6isbgj6Z
— Memes World 👰 (@MemesWorld4u) March 5, 2025
Senior IPS officer DGP K Ramachandra Rao, swiftly distanced himself from Ranya’s actions. DGP Rao said that he had no connection to his daughter’s activities. “She got married four months ago and hasn’t visited us since. We are unaware of her or her husband’s business dealings. This has come as a huge shock and disappointment. The law will take its course,” he said.
While Ranya is the stepdaughter of a senior IPS officer from Karnataka, K. Ramachandra Rao who currently serves as Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, the name of her mother and Rao’s current wife isn’t known yet.
Dr. K. Ramachandra Rao had been promoted as Director General of Police (DGP), according to an order issued by the State Government back in 2023.
Dr. Rao, who had been serving as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and Managing Director (MD) of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation Ltd., had been promoted as the DGP and Chairman and MD of Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. He is an IPS of the 1993 batch and while his DOB isn’t known, he is aged between 50-60 years.
Previously, Rao was serving as the commissioner to Hubli-Dharwad. Rao, a science PG holder from Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), was selected in early 1990s, and his first posting was at Davanagere as assistant superintendent of police and he served as SP at Koppal, Chikmagalur, Gulbarga and Kodagu and as DIG at Police Training College (Gulbarga) and KSRP (Bangalore) before being promoted as IGP and posted as commissioner (Hubli-Dharwad).
Preliminary investigations suggested that Ranya Rao may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks aupon landing, Ranya Rao claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka’s Director General of Police and contacted local police personnel to escort her home.
The actress was detained as she went through the immigration processing area on Monday night after getting off an Emirates flight at T2, according to airport sources. They said that Rao had concealed the gold within her attire and worn it on her person.
Rao was under observation when authorities noticed that she frequently travelled to Dubai, multiple times in a 15-day period. According to a source, she would frequently ask for police help at the airport while posing as a DGP’s daughter and would be brought away without being questioned.
Actress Ranya Rao, the daughter of senior IPS officer and Karnataka DGP (Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Rao. 🫡 https://t.co/bRK3rokLDt pic.twitter.com/JnlMOTTXgO
— Mal-Lee (@MallikarjunaNH) March 5, 2025
Authorities are currently investigating if her IPS father Ramachandra Rao and other law enforcement officials knew about her activities or were duped into helping her. Rao was transferred to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru’s HBR Layout for interrogation after being arrested.
Authorities are looking into whether the actress was a member of a bigger gold smuggling ring that operated between India and Dubai or if she acted alone.
On Tuesday, Rao was brought to the DRI Headquarters at HBR Layout. She appeared before the City’s 42nd Additional Sessions Court.
“A case has been filed against her under different sections of the Customs Act and Customs officials have taken her into custody,” said a top cop.
#RanyaRao — Kannada actress and daughter of #Karnataka DGP Ramachandra Rao — was reportedly detained by #customs officials at #Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on March 3.
Ranya was allegedly smuggling 15 kg of #gold from #Dubai.@krishnaksays @nabilajamal_ pic.twitter.com/hm3kJZY6U4
— News9 (@News9Tweets) March 4, 2025
Who is Ranya Rao?
Before entering the film industry, Ranya Rao, who is originally from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, attended Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru to study engineering. According to a number of media accounts, Ranya is DGP Rao’s stepdaughter.
In 2014, Ranya made her cinematic debut with the Sudeep-directed and Sudeep-starred Kannada film Maanikya. She played the part of Manasa, the protagonist’s love interest and affluent young lady.
In 2016, Ranya Rao stepped outside of Kannada cinema by starring alongside Vikram Prabhu in the romance drama Wagah, her first Tamil film. She made a comeback to the Kannada cinema business in 2017 with the comedy Pataki, in which she portrayed Sangeetha, a journalist and Ganesh’s romantic interest.