ITV

Tag: Param Bir Singh

  • TRP scam: Former BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia arrested

    TRP scam: Former BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia arrested

    NEW DELHI: Mumbai police has taken in custody former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) COO Romil Ramgarhia, marking the 14th arrest in the TRP manipulation case. He has been remanded in police custody till 19 Dec. 

    The development comes a day after Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani was granted bail in the same case. 

    Ramgarhia had left BARC in July this year after a six-year-long stint with the council. 

    The alleged scam was busted in October this year when Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh held a press conference stating that three channels – Republic TV, Box Cinema, Fakt Marathi – were rigging ratings by paying people to keep the channels on even when they were not watching them. The TRP contracts were given to a company named Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd. During the investigation, it was found that the ex-employees of Hansa were sharing the TRP data with the channels.

    Following this scandal coming to light, BARC suspended ratings of news channels for three months to "review its already stringent protocols and further augment them."

    Mumbai police has been hot on the heels of Republic TV’s top executives, while the channel and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami claim the case to be vindictive action against it.

    Earlier this month, Republic's chief operating officer Priya Mukherjee got anticipatory bail in connection with the TRP gaming case. On 5 December, the sessions court had granted bail to Republic TV's assistant vice president, Ghanshyam Singh, who was arrested in the same case on 10 November.

  • Mumbai police arrest Republic TV editor in chief Arnab Goswami

    Mumbai police arrest Republic TV editor in chief Arnab Goswami

    MUMBAI: Republic TV founder & editor in chief Arnab Goswami was picked up from his residence early this morning by the Mumbai police. According to Republic TV, 10 policemen entered Goswami’s residence and pushed him around, before taking him away.

    According to the media firm, the police had no summons or arrest warrants at the time of his arrest.

    Zee News reported that Arnab has been arrested in connection with an old abetment to suicide case of a 53-year-old interior designer. A Mumbai police official said that an architect and his mother committed suicide in 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by Republic TV. Arnab, it says, has been arrested under Section 306 and Section 34 of IPC.

    Reports are that Arnab will be taken to Raigad for questioning.

    Republic TV has alleged that the cops “blocked Republic executive editor Niranjan Narayanswamy and senior associate editor Sanjay Pathak from entering his residence. Eught police vehicles and at least 40-50 Police personnel are in the building premises of Arnab, many armed. When Niranjan said that it is his right to report, he was thrown out of the building and the Mumbai police wanted his phone.”

    Republic TV has alleged that Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh is carried out a vendetta campaign against the channel.

    I&B  minister Prakash Javadekar has spoken out against the treatment being meted out to Arnab.