Mumbai: Republic TV’s distribution head Ghanshyam Singh was today arrested by the Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch from his residence.
He has been arrested in connection with a police case for alleged manipulation of ratings to show the news channel and its programmes as the most watched.
Singh, who is also assistant vice president of the Republic Media Network, was picked up from his residence around 7.40 am.
According to a Republic TV report, “Ghanshyam has been questioned several times for over 30-40 hours by the Crime Branch unit in the alleged TRP case in the past few weeks and has been fully cooperating with the probe.”
It added: “This comes at a time when Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has spent his 6th night in custody after being arrested in shocking circumstances and amid condemnable scenes in a case that was closed in 2019 and then ‘reopened’ by the Maharashtra Police.”
The fake TRP scam came to light last month when ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers. Hansa is one of BARC’s vendors on engagement with panel homes or people’s meters.