The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested Kannada actress Ranya Rao at Bengaluru International Airport after she was found in possession of 14.8 kg of gold, officials said on Tuesday.

Following her arrest on Monday night, she was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody, they added.

According to officials, Rao had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been under surveillance due to her frequent international travel.

Investigators revealed that she had allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothing.

Authorities grew suspicious after noticing that she had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting a targeted operation upon her return.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the actress may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks.

Reports indicate that upon landing, she allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka’s Director General of Police and contacted local police personnel to escort her home.

Officials are now probing whether any law enforcement officers, including her IPS relative, were aware of her activities or were misled into assisting her. After her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru’s HBR Layout for questioning.

Authorities are investigating whether she was acting alone or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India.

Rao, known for her role opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in ‘Maanikya’ (2014), has also appeared in a few other South Indian films.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back sharply in early trade on Wednesday amid value buying at lower levels as well as tracking the strong rally in Asian peers.

Market analysts said domestic equities were highly oversold and were due for a bounce.

Moreover, stocks in the Asia Pacific region traded on a positive note early on Wednesday on the tariff relief signal after President Donald Trump sparked a global selloff, they said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark climbed 564.80 points or 0.77 per cent to 73,554.73 in the morning trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 176.65 points or 0.8 per cent to 22,259.30.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Power Grid, NTPC, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were the only laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading higher.

Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and also bounced back and were trading higher.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

“US equity markets closed lower in a volatile trading session on Tuesday as new US tariffs took effect. The benchmark S&P 500 suffered its worst day of this year after the US tariffs were confirmed,” Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE barometer closed at 72,989.93, down by 96.01 points. Extending the losses for the 10th straight session, the 50-share Nifty of NSE fell by 36.65 points to close at 22,082.65.

“Losses in Indian markets were limited compared to global and Asian peers, which saw a significant sell-off after Donald Trump confirmed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Small-cap stocks bounced back sharply after facing severe selling pressure, while mid-cap stocks ended the session with mild gains,” Vakil said, adding “Nifty is highly oversold and due for a bounce”.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,405.82 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude depreciated by 0.34 per cent to USD 70.80 a barrel.

On the global front, President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China.

Later in the day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle,” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday. Lutnick told a news channel that the tariffs would not be paused, but that Trump would reach a compromise, as per media reports.

Trump also criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries including China, calling it “very unfair” and announcing reciprocal tariffs will kick in from next month.

In his address to a Joint Session of the US Congress, the president said that the the reciprocal tariffs will commence April 2. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

China has vowed to retaliate if the US continues its trade war, following Washington’s decision to double tariffs on Chinese imports. In response, Beijing has implemented tariffs on various US goods and announced restrictions on American companies, stating that intimidation and coercion will not succeed.