Republic TV heads dont turn up on Saturday, say they are out of station; file writ petition in SC
Sam Balsara, founder, chairman and managing director of Madison World, at the Crime Branch on Saturday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
The Mumbai Police, that is investigating the fake TRP scam, has summoned six more people for investigation on Sunday. The Crime Branch had summoned four people for investigation on Saturday, but the office bearers of Republic TV didn't show up, claiming they were out of station. They have also filed a writ in Supreme Court regarding the investigation. Meanwhile, various teams of the Crime Branch have gone out of Mumbai to nab two absconding accused related to the case. The Mumbai Police sent summons to Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani, Republic TV COO Harsh Bhandari, Republic TV COO Priya Mukherjee, Republic TV's distribution head Ghanshyam Singh, Hansa Agency CEO Pravin Nizra and another employee of Hansa as well.
Sam Balsara, founder, chairman and managing director of Madison World, and Shishir Sinha of MullenLowe Lintas, were called on Saturday to record their statements. Shiva Sundaram, CFO of Republic TV, and Ghanshyam Singh, summoned in the case, have given a letter to the Crime Branch, that they can't appear for investigation. Sundaram sought time saying he is busy till October 16. Along with this, he filed a writ petition in the Supreme court. In the letter that Ghanshyam Singh has written, he said he is not in Mumbai right now, but will cooperate with the police. The Economic Offenses Wing will join the crime branch in the investigations. A team is also looking for absconding accused Dinesh Vishwakarma and Vinay Tripathi, who are both former employees of the Hansa research group.
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A Crime Branch official told Mid-day, "We will expedite the investigations." Milind Bhamre, Joint CP Crime Branch, has confirmed to Sunday Mid-day, that they have received Sundaram's letter and are investigating the matter.
What is the TRP scam?
An alleged fake TRP case was registered after the Mumbai Police claimed to have busted a TRP manipulation racket following a complaint by TV viewership measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). The police said Republic TV, Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema were involved in manipulating the crucial data that indicates which TV programmes are viewed the most and is used by advertisers for decisions related to ad spend.
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