“The biggest name to emerge is Republic TV,” said the police chief. The other two channels whose owners have been arrested are Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema.

Mumbai: Republic TV and two more channels being investigated for their alleged ratings manipulation and using channels to spread fake stories and gain ad revenues, the Mumbai police said today.

Two TV channel owners have been arrested and the directors and promoters of Republic TV are being investigated for ratings fraud.

Republic TV officials will be summoned today or tomorrow, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh told media, A shocking  move by on a row over the media coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case and aggressive condemnation of the Mumbai police by some channels.

The bank accounts of Republic TV and the others could be frozen if it were determined that the channels made marketing money using manipulated ratings, Commissioner said.

“The biggest name to emerge is Republic TV,” said the police chief. The other two channels whose owners have been arrested are Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema.

Commissioner said former employees of Hansa, an agency that placed ratings meters in select households, shared confidential data with the three channels being investigated. Hansa’s data is used by BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council), which releases weekly rating points for channels across the country.

“There was false TRP spreading. TRP ratings were being bought. The manipulation was mainly for advertising revenues.”

He explained that the scam was based on household data being revealed to channels, which used it to manipulate ratings. “Based on these ratings they received illegal advertising funds. This will be considered proceeds of cheating,” said the police chief.

The bank accounts of the channels will be investigated, Commissioner told reporters, besides the funds they receive from advertisers and “whether they are from proceeds of crimes”. More channels could also be examined, he said. Asked whether the inquiry would include Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Republic, the police chief said: “Anyone involved in the channel, no matter how much in the top, how senior, will be questioned, and if involved they will be investigated. No one, no matter how senior, will escape.”

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