Who is Ranya Rao's father? IPS officer in focus after step-daughter's arrest; all about Karnataka DGP Ramachandra Rao

DGP Ramachandra Rao, a senior IPS officer in Karnataka, has come under the spotlight after his stepdaughter, Kannada actress Ranya Rao, was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold. 

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted Sandalwood actress Ranya Rao at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night when she arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight with 14.8 kg of gold. 

Reacting to the incident, DGP Ramachandra Rao said he was “shocked and devastated” and quickly distanced himself from the case, saying he came to know of the incident through the media.

“The law will do its job. There is no black mark on my career,” he was quoted as saying by ANI, which added that he had no prior knowledge about the actress' involvement in gold smuggling. The IPS officer said he came to know about the incident through media reports.

“I was also shocked and devastated when such an incident came to my notice through the media, I was not aware of any of these things, like any other father I was also shocked. She is not living with us, she is living separately with her husband, there must be some problem between them due to some family issues,” the wire agency quoted the police officer as saying.

Who is Ramachandra Rao, Ranya Rao's father?

K. Ramachandra Rao is a DGP-rank officer currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

He was promoted to the position in September 2023.

According to a report by The Week, Rao's name surfaced in a controversial money seizure incident during his tenure as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Southern Range.

As per the publication, Mysuru South Police, in early 2014, had stopped a Calicut-bound private bus near Yelwal to seize money allegedly being transported by four Kerala-based merchants.

While cops claimed that the seized amount was ₹20 lakh, the accused claimed it was around ₹2.27 crore.

One of the officers present during the seizure was Ramachandra Rao, who denied all allegations. However, he was transferred soon after.