TRP scam: 4 accused including Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema owners sent to police custody

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 09, 2020: Four individuals, including owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema channels, .have been sent to police custody till October 13 by a court in connection with the Television Rating Points (TRP) scam.

The accused have been identified as Vishal Bhandari, Bompalli Rao, Narayan Sharma (owner of Box Cinema) and Shirish Shetty (Fakt Marathi owner). All the four accused have been arrested for being involved in the manipulation of viewership ratings.

 

Two of the accused are owners of Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema TV channels. Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV channel is also believed to be involved in the TRP scam.

Mumbai Police has disclosed several details in connection with the case. Police said the TRP scam involved manipulating TV channel ratings by bribing households to keep certain channels switched on for a specified duration

It may be noted that the TRP scam came to light yesterday after Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh held a press conference, sharing details about the scam.

During the press conference, Singh said the owners of Republic TV would be called for the interrogation in connection with the TRP scam.

He also said that two former employees of Hansa agency, involved in the process to determine TRPs, have also been arrested for their involvement in the scam.

While Republic TV denied involvement in the scam after being named, a witness said that he was paid Rs 400 per month to watch the channel.

Further investigation is underway and the Mumbai Police is expected to question more people in connection with the TRP scam.


courtesy: IndiaToday