Arnab seeks stay to probe by Mumbai police in TRP scam
Republic TV editor-in-chief ArnabGoswami moved the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking a stayto further investigation by the Mumbai police in the allegedTelevision Rating Points (TRP) manipulation scam.
The petition, filed by Goswami and ARG Outlier Mediawhich owns Republic TV, also alleged that one of the employeesof the firm was tortured by the police in custody.
It sought protection for all employees from the”malicious witch hunt” allegedly being carried out by theMaharashtra authorities.
Ghanshyam Singh, “assistant vice president,distribution” of Republic TV was arrested on November 10 andand “tortured, beaten and harassed in custody”, it alleged.
Singh was given bail last week.
The police was working in a “pre-determined manner tofalsely implicate” Goswami and others from ARG Media by”influencing witnesses, and extracting false statementsagainst the petitioners”, petition alleged.
The court should, therefore, transfer the probe to theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other independentagency, the petition said. It is yet to be listed for hearing.
When contacted for reaction, senior police officialsrefused to comment.
TRP, measured by recording viewership data at samplehouseholds, is crucial for attracting advertisers.
As per the police, some of these households were beingbribed to tune into Republic TV and a few other channels.
Republic TV has denied wrongdoing.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)