The Mumbai Police on October 8 claimed that Television Rating Point (TRP) was manipulated by some channels in Mumbai.
"We have busted a fake TRP racket involving two Marathi channels and Republic TV," said Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh adding that a fake TRP racket was being run by these TV channels to manipulate Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) TRP data.
The TRP is calculated on the basis of TV channel viewership in a confidential set of households. As per the commissioner, the accused would bribe these households and ask them to run some channels continuously even if they were not home. The BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) releases weekly rating points for TV channels in India and its own officials are also being questioned in connection with the case.
Two people were arrested, produced in court and the Mumbai Police have got their custody. One accused has been arrested with Rs 20 lakhs while Rs 8.5 lakhs has been found in a bank locker, Commissioner Param Bir Singh said.
He added that owners of Marathi channels Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema have been arrested. Arrests were made under sections 409 and 420 of IPC. He further stated that the promoters and other employees of Republic TV will also be summoned and questioned.
Meanwhile, Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has issued a statement calling the allegations made by the police commissioner as "false".
“Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh has made false allegations against Republic TV because we have questioned him in the Sushant Singh Rajput case investigation. Republic TV will file a criminal defamation case against Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh," Goswami said.
In a statement issued later on Thursday, BARC said, "As in all our previous cases of suspected panel homes intrusions, BARC India continues to follow its established vigilance and disciplinary guidelines. BARC remains steadfastly true to its purpose to accurately and faithfully report 'What India Watches'. BARC India appreciates the efforts of the Mumbai Police and will provide the support asked of it."
Expressing his disappointment with BARC over the matter, the owner of an Assam-based satellite TV channel told G Plus, "If BARC is unable to maintain accuracy on data from a Mumbai-based TV channel like Republic TV, how far can we trust on their data and report for far-fledged locations like Assam?”
