In the latest bombshell dropped by the ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, the Republic TRP Scam is deemed to be a hoax. In his statement to the ED, Singh alleged that the TRP Scam was part of a political conspiracy. Singh even alleged that the arrest of the head of Republic Media Network Arnab Goswami was politically motivated.
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The TRP Scam Case
In October 2020, the Mumbai Police alleged that the TV ratings have been manipulated by Republic TV and two Marathi channels. The Mumbai Police claimed that they have busted a scam related to TV ratings popularly referred to as ‘TRP Scam’. They alleged that BARC ratings were being manipulated. BARC is the organization that measures television ratings in India.
The Mumbai Police claimed that houses having bar-o-meters were paid to watch particular TV channels. Bar-o-Meters are installed in houses to monitor ratings which are further used to grab advertisements, which in turn generates revenue. Mumbai Police even claimed that houses were paid an amount of Rs.500 on a monthly basis.
After busting these alleged ‘TRP Scam’ the Mumbai Police said that the revenue collected through manipulation of TRPs will be seen as ‘proceeds of crime’.
Param Bir Singh’s allegations
After 1 year and 4 months of the TRP Scam case, the ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner has deemed it a hoax. In his statement to the Enforcement Directorate(ED), ex Mumbai Police Commissioner confirmed that the TRP Scam case against the Republic Media network was fake and part of a political conspiracy. Singh claimed that even the arrest of Journalist Arnab Goswami who heads the Republic Media Network was politically motivated.
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Singh mentioned the involvement of then Home Minister of Anil Deshmukh in this political conspiracy. Singh alleged that ex-Police Officer Sachin Waze was taking direct instructions from Home Minister Deshmukh in the TRP case along with others.
Singh and Waze were the main faces behind the amplification of this case. Earlier, Sachin Waze had also accepted that then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh personally wanted the arrest of Arnab Goswami. Earlier Deshmukh said before the ED that, Param Bir Singh himself was the mastermind of the Antilia Bomb Blast case.
Republic TV’s Stand
In response to these developments, the Republic media network has demanded an investigation into this matter. A statement released by the Media network read, “All these statements which are on-record and have complete legal validity completely prove that there was a massive political, police, and media conspiracy against the Republic Media Network and, personally, against its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The statements of Mr Param Bir Singh and Mr Sachin Vaze, both of whom, fronted and amplified the hoax charges against the Republic Media Network, reveal the malicious intent behind targeting India’s fastest-growing and most popular national news network.”
A Scam that captured the media attention and suppressed the other important issues has now been claimed as fake. Earlier this week, Singh also claimed that Sachin Waze was also reinstated due to pressure from the Thackreys themselves. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has also been forced to resign due to the ongoing investigation in the money laundering case. All these simply direct towards the fact that something is functioning properly in the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government.