Mistry (45), who has not had a stable source of income for the last 1.5 years, through his assistants paid households TV channelssaid the police. They have seized Rs 8.5 lakh found in Mistry’s bank locker and also frozen his bank account, which they say had a balance of Rs 20 lakh.
“We found that since November last year, more than 1 crore rupees entered his account. These transfers occurred after an interval of every two months, and each time an amount ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh was deposited. . We have noticed between five and six transfers of that type of money in his account, “said an officer of the crime section.
The criminal branch is investigating the manipulation of the PRT and the alleged role of three channels: Republic TV, Fakht Marathi and Movie box.
‘Forensic audit of transactions by 3 channels’
There are allegations that the detained defendants paid money to households, where people meters were installed, to watch these channels and increase their TRP.
Mistry, a Versova resident, was responsible for distributing money to his protégé and another arrested defendant, Vishal Bhandari, a former employee of the Hansa Investigation Group, a police officer said. “The money came from four to five people. We are now investigating them to determine why they transferred money to Mistry, ”said the officer.
Police found that while the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) states that people meters cannot be installed in an employee’s residence, there was one installed in Bhandari’s home. Bhandari, while working with Hansa Research as a relationship manager, was responsible for 83 homes where the people meters were installed.
One officer said: “We have recorded statements from 38 of them. Some of them said that they did not want to watch a particular English channel, which is under investigation, but agreed to do so with monthly payments of 400 to 500 rupees. Some people said that Bhandari had transferred money through Google Pay. ”
A Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) team led by API Sachin Waze is questioning the defendant and has written to a bank requesting financial transactions on the Republic TV account, according to a police officer closely involved in the investigation.
The police have also formed a task force in the city’s economic crime wing (EOW) to investigate the financial transactions of the three television channels and conduct a forensic audit. Police have reached out to income tax and GST officials and requested their help for a broader investigation in this case, the officials said.
The forensic audit of all financial accounts and transactions will be thoroughly performed by the forensic auditor, an official said, adding that investigation of the transactions is vital to establishing the crime.
A team led by EOW Deputy Police Commissioner Parag Manera will invite applications from forensic auditors. “A forensic audit of these three channels will be carried out. We have to examine the financing, the distribution of the money and the source, ”said an EOW official. “Our teams will also focus on establishing whether there was any diversion of funds,” he added.
The EOW typically conducts forensic audits in large cheating and financial fraud cases. The police will also summon advertisers and examine their books of accounts and their advertising pattern.
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