The Mumbai Police on Sunday has arrested Republic TV Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vikas Khanchandani. He is arrested in the alleged fake Television Rating Points (TRP) scam. Khanchandani was arrested early in the morning from his home and will be produced before the holiday court later in the day.
Khanchandani’s arrest comes a week after the sessions court in Mumbai granted interim relief to Republic TV Chief Operating Officer (COO) Priya Mukharjee. The court said that Mukharjee can be released on a bail bond of Rs 50,000.
This is the thirteenth arrest made by Mumbai police in the TRP scam case. The police said that Khanchandani had knowledge of the crime.
Reacting to the arrest, Republic TV said, “Vikas Khanchandani has faced over 100 hours of interrogation in the fake TRP case. Republic CEO’s arrest by the Mumbai Police without any papers once again exposes the malicious and vengeance-filled intentions of the Mumbai Police persecuting the network.”
The crime branch is probing the role of Republic TV, Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema, Mahamovies and Wow music channels for inflating viewership figures. They are accused of paying money to households for keeping channels on to illegally boost their TRPs.
The Mumbai Police’s case is based on a complaint filed by the rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain TV channels were rigging TRPs.
Also Read: BARC Suspends Weekly Ratings For News Channels Amidst Fake TRP Racket