Mumbai police released a first information report on October 6 (file)
Mumbai:
A Republic TV official has been named in a charge sheet filed today by Mumbai police in the case of false ratings.
Ghanshyam Singh, head of distribution for Republic TV, is among 12 defendants named in the 1,400-page charge sheet.
Seven of the defendants are free on bail. Among the defendants are former employees of Hansa Research, the agency involved in evaluating the ratings of the channels, and two more channels accused of manipulating the ratings.
The document names 140 witnesses, including forensic auditors and members of the BARC or Broadcast Audience Research Council, which assesses PRTs or television rating points by monitoring selected households.
Two of the defendants recorded statements before a magistrate and have indicated that they want to make them approvers, according to sources. The court will decide.
The charge sheet includes analytical data submitted by BARC and statements from witnesses, advertisers and advertising agencies.
Mumbai police submitted a first information report on October 6 and began their investigations based on a complaint filed by a Hansa Research official, Nitin Deokar.
The case involves allegations that three channels – Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi – manipulated the ratings and used them to spread false narratives and earn advertising revenue.
According to the Mumbai Police, the alleged ratings fraud emerged during an analysis of the manipulation of news trends and how a “false narrative” was spread, especially in relation to the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The media houses were accused of manipulating the ratings by bribing the households measured by the agencies.
Sources say the charge sheet lists affidavits, electronic evidence including WhatsApp chats, payment records, data gleaned from phones and laptops, forensic audits of company accounts and people arrested.
The evidence reportedly includes internal WhatsApp communication recovered from Ghanshyam Singh’s phone.
Mumbai police sources said their investigations are ongoing and additional charge sheets are likely to be filed later against other defendants with more evidence.
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