Republic TV chief executive officer (CEO) Vikas Khanchandani is being questioned by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police in connection with the TRP scam.
The channel’s CFO Shiva Subramaniyam Sundaram, was summoned on Saturday, but he asked that it be rescheduled, ND TV reported.
The owners of two TV channels — Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema — are among the four people arrested in the case.
The fake TRP racket came to light when ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers. Hansa Research is one of BARC’s vendors on engagement with panel homes, or “peoples meters”.
Mumbai Police chief Parambir Singh on Thursday told reported in Mumbai that the facts emerged during a larger analysis of manipulation of news trends and how a “false narrative” was being spread, especially regarding the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
Data indicated that the three channels were tweaking ratings to get high advertising rates, a procedure that amounts to fraud.
Republic TV had refuted the allegations of TRP manipulation and accused Mumbai Police of a vendetta.
The Mumbai Police, on the other hand, denied any bias and clarified that their investigation was based on a complaint by Hansa Research Group, which is a private firm.