Hubballi, March 13 -- Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday alleged that Kannada actress Ranya Rao was escorted by state police while travelling abroad, enabling her to evade Customs checks.

He also claimed that the arrangement was made on the orders of a Congress minister despite her ineligibility for such protocol.

Speaking to media, Joshi said, "The state police used to escort that lady whenever she was going abroad, which helped her to avoid customs checking. She was escorted under the instructions of some Congress Minister, even though she was not eligible for such a protocol. The state government should come clean on this."

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) asked the CBI to probe the Ranya Rao gold smugg...