Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal was on Tuesday charged for his vulgar remarks on actor Ranya Rao, who is currently in the custody of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in a gold smuggling case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The legislator from Karnataka’s Bijapur City on Monday sparked a controvers<\/a>y through his remarks that the actor had hidden gold “all over her body”. “There were lapses by customs officials, and necessary action should be taken against them. She (Ranya Rao) had gold all over her body, hiding it wherever she had holes, and smuggled it in,” Mr Yatnal told reporters in Kannada.\u00a0<\/p>\n The BJP MLA also hinted at the role of ministers in the crime. “I have gathered complete information about her relationships, who helped her obtain security (clearance), and how the gold was brought in. I will expose everything in the session…,” he added.<\/p>\n Mr Yatnal the guilty must not be spared. “Can someone be defended because they are a central government employee,” he asked.<\/p>\n Ramachandra Rao, a DGP-level officer who has denied any link to the gold seizure, was sent on “compulsory leave” last week, after his stepdaughter’s arrest.<\/p>\n The actor was caught smuggling gold bars weighing 14.2 kg, worth Rs 14.56 crore, when she arrived from Dubai at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on March 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ranya Rao<\/a>, who made her debut with the 2014 movie Maanikya, came under the radar of DRI officials after she made her fourth visit to Dubai in 15 days. It was earlier learnt that she made 27 trips to Dubai in the past year.<\/p>\n Sources said the actor used to wear some of the gold and conceal the rest in her clothing to avoid getting caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n