TRP Scam: Bail Plea Of BARC’s Former CEO Rejected

The bail plea of Partho Dasgupta, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has been rejected by a Mumbai court on Monday. He was arrested in connection with the alleged television rating points (TRP) fraud.

Kamlesh Ghumre, Dasgupta's lawyer, said they would approach the session's court soon to apply for another bail plea.

The Mumbai police arrested the former CEO last month alleging that he had misused his official position and manipulated TRPs of certain news channels to benefit ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd's Republic Bharat and Republic TV. They claimed that he is the key suspect in the TRP fraud case.

It is also alleged that Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami approached Dasgupta to manipulate TRP. They met a number of times over the issue. The prosecution cited evidence in form of WhatsApp chats to prove the allegations against Dasgupta.

Meanwhile, Republic TV in its statement had earlier said the allegations against it by the police are "laughable". It had also called the Mumbai Police's allegations against the channel a "witch-hunt."