BENGALURU: The tension in the courtroom was palpable as Ranya, the prime accused in the high-profile gold smuggling case, stood before the judge, accompanied by a team of DRI officials.
The crowded court hall was thick with anticipation. When special court (economic offences) Vishwanath C Gowdar asked if she had been physically or mentally mistreated during her three-day custody with DRI, the room fell silent. Ranya, standing still, appeared calm at first, but then, breaking the stillness, began to sob uncontrollably.
“I was verbally threatened and traumatised. They (DRI) haven’t harassed me physically. But they verbally threatened during interrogation. They say if I don’t do this or don’t do that, consequences will be bad,” she said.
However, one of the DRI sleuths quickly rebutted and said Ranya was attempting to describe questioning as harassment. “Each and every moment of interrogation has been video recorded. Yes, we have questioned her, stressing the facts of her regular foreign trips, but she is not cooperating with us. We have posed the questions based on the documents like travel history; still, she refuses to cooperate,” the official said.
Hearing this, Ranya countered stating that she was cooperating with the investigating agency. Hearing them, Judge Gowdar told Ranya: “We will hear both sides. The court will never come to a conclusion after hearing just one side. We will hear you and hear them also. Further, we will go through the video recording of the interrogation. And yes, if we come across any sign of taking statements by force or threat, we will act on it.”
Meanwhile, DRI sources said Ranya was refusing to answer questions about how the gold bars were sourced, which syndicate was she working for and who are the influential people supporting her.
