Sameeksha Dubey
The Mumbai police stated that the editor-in-chief of Republic TV Arnab Goswami paid lakhs of rupees to BARC for manipulation of TRP.
Republic TV TRP case was filed before the Magistrate’s court in Mumbai by the Mumbai police which is being heard by the Bombay High Court having the division bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and M.S. Karnik.
It was alleged that Republic TV with two more news channels is included in the racket of the TRP scam. Mumbai police and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami as well as CEO Vikas Khanchandani were the parties to the case.
The Bombay HC asked Mumbai police to summon Arnab Goswami if he is alleged and to be questioned. The court mentioned that if the summon is issued against Arnab, he must be present to cooperate.
The ED too started an investigation into the alleged scam on 20th November 2020. Later, Arnab, Vikas, and the former CEO of BARC Partho Dasgupta were arrested with 13 more people.
Mumbai police agreed in front of the court that no coercive action will be taken against the persons mentioned in the charge sheet filed in the TRP case.
Senior advocate Aabad Ponda appeared for ARG and Arnab and requested the court to grant urgent relief to them. He claimed that people mentioned in the charge sheet were not alleged.
He also mentioned several words used in the charge sheet table which could be anyone. The plea of Ponda was objected to by the chief public prosecutor.
Justice Shinde said to the chief public prosecutor, “the maalak, chaalak words are so broad that it may include anyone, even reporters in the field. Why don’t you take instructions of no coercive action till tomorrow? No one is stopping you from investigating.”
The police custody of Dasgupta was extended till December 30.
BARC is an organization responsible for the installation of barometers that are used to measure TRPs. It is the case if Mumbai police said that Dasgupta has taken advantage of his position.
Petitioner filed the plea in session court requesting that the case should be transferred to CBI or other independent agency. It is yet to be listed for hearing. As per the police, some households were bribed to stay tune to Republic TV.