Widening the scope of the probe into the TRP scam, the Mumbai Police on Thursday, 17 December, arrested Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) former COO Romil Ramgarhia, according to officials.
This is the 14th arrest in the TRP scam probe but first linked to the BARC and comes barely five days after Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani was arrested on 13 December, sent to custody till 15 December, and granted bail on 16 December.
The Crime Branch hopes to unravel more details of the sensational TRP rigging case unearthed last October with the alleged involvement of several television channels including Republic TV, Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and others, said the officials.
Ramgarhia had left BARC after completing his six-year stint and was instrumental in creating what he described as the world's biggest television viewership measurement company.
The police have contended that the Television Rating Points are measured by recording the viewership data of TV channels or programmes by sample households around the country, which is critical for getting advertisements.
The viewership data was allegedly manipulated by some of these channels through a research agency by making fixed monthly payments to the families to view only certain channels/programmes.
However, Republic TV has denied the charges and accused the Mumbai Police of harassing the channel and its officials as part of a vendetta.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)