The crime branch official confirmed the incident and said Khanchandani was arrested early Sunday morning at his residence. They will present it to the holiday court on Sunday afternoon.
Police said Khanchandani, who is the 13th defendant to be arrested in the case, is the beneficiary of the scam and had knowledge of the crime.
Last week, the court of sessions had granted provisional measures to Priya Mukherjee, Chief Operating Officer, Republic TV, who had requested an advance bond. The court ordered Mukherjee to be “released on personal bail of Rs 50,000 in case of arrest and requested that she appear at the appropriate police station once a week.”
The crime branch is investigating the role of Republic TV, Fakt Marathi, Movie box, News Nation, Mahamovies and Wow music channels to inflate viewership numbers, a key metric that media buying houses consider when placing ads.
The channels are accused of paying money to households (in those houses where barometers are installed) to keep the channels on. So far, the police have arrested 12 people in the case, including Ghanshyam Singh, head of distribution for ARG Outlier Media private limited (which operates Republic TV). Singh is accused of distributing money to manipulate his channel.
.
