After a complaint was filed with UP, the Yogi Adityanath government recommended a CBI case.
New Delhi:
The CBI today registered a case to investigate the ratings scam based on a complaint filed in Uttar Pradesh. The move comes as the case is being investigated by the Mumbai police, who have accused three channels, including Republic TV, of manipulating viewership ratings.
Republic TV has been demanding an investigation from the CBI, accusing Mumbai police of persecuting the channel after their recent confrontation over the Sushant Singh Rajput case.
After a complaint was filed in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by the BJP, the government of Yogi Adityanath recommended a CBI case. Lucknow police registered an FIR based on the “Golden Rabbit Communications” complaint on Sunday. Within 24 hours, the central government approved the UP government’s proposal for a CBI investigation.
A CBI team heads to Lucknow to collect documents on what has been called a “TRP (Television Rating Points) scam”. The agency has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against anonymous persons.
This is the second time since the Sushant Singh Rajput case that an investigation has made its way from the Mumbai Police to a BJP-ruled state and then to the CBI.
Earlier this month, Mumbai police said the ratings scam was revealed during a broader analysis of the manipulation of news trends and the spread of “false narratives” in connection with the investigation into the actor’s death. Sushant Singh Rajput.
Mumbai Police Chief Param Bir Singh said former employees of Hansa, an agency that placed rating meters in select homes, shared confidential data with the three investigated channels. Hansa data is used by BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council), which publishes weekly rating points for channels across the country.
Media organizations were accused of bribing households that were metered to keep their channel on all the time, even if they weren’t watching it.
Republic TV, which is often accused of bias, alleged that the Mumbai police chief was campaigning against the channel and demanded an investigation by the CBI.
CBI intervention has now been enabled by the case filed in UP. Golden Rabbit Communications, in its complaint, had requested an investigation into BARC’s role.
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