Vikas Khanchandani, CEO of Republic TV, who was arrested in the TRP manipulation scam on December 13, has now been sent to judicial custody for 14 days after a magistrate court order.
According to an Indian Express report, Khanchandani’s role in the scam came into light during the interrogation of the channel’s distribution head, Ghanshyam Singh. Reportedly, Khanchandani was a part of the WhatsApp group which discussed details related to the TRP manipulation process.
Khanchandanim, who is the 13th person to be arrested in the alleged TRP scam case, has been sent to Taloja jail. He has also applied for a bail plea which will be heard on Wednesday.
“Among the grounds seeking bail, we have cited that his arrest is a gross misuse of power and abuse of process of law. He is neither named in the FIR nor the chargesheet,” hsi counsel Niteen Pradhan said.
Notably, when Khanchandani was arrested, his anticipatory bail plea was pending before the sessions court. Reacting to which, Additional Sessions Judge DE Kothalikar said that the court was disappointed in police’s action of arresting the Republic TV executive a day before his plea for anticipatory bail was scheduled for hearing.
The fake TRP scam was identified in October when the Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group – one of BARC’s vendors on engagement with people’s meters. Three channels including Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi were accused of tampering with the television rating that are monitored by BARC.
On a related note, Mumbai Police on Monday recorded the statements of six cable operators as part of their investigation into the matter. “We have asked them to appear before investigators on Wednesday and to bring certain documents,” an officer said.