Mumbai Police, while pursuing its investigations and interrogations into the alleged TRM scam by Arnab Goswami of Republic TV has been given a hand written note, which could probably spell doom for Republic TV.

A hand written statement given by the ex- CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC - India), Partho Dasgupta, explicitly mentions that Arnab Goswami had given Partho $12,000 across two separate holidays and Rs 40 lakh over three years.

This statement was recorded in the Crime Investigation Unit office on 27 December 2020, where Partho Dasgupta alleged that Arnab had hinted rating manipulation.

This funding was allegedly done to manipulate ratings in favour of Republic TV. This letter forms a part of the super-size 3,600 page supplementary chargesheet filed by Mumbai Police on 11 January. This dossier also includes a BARC forensic audit report, WhatsApp chats between Arnab Goswami and Dasgupta, cable operators and former BARC employees, among 59 persons whose statements have been recorded.

While the first chargesheet filed in November last year named 12 persons, the latest supplementary chargesheet has been filed against former BARC top executives including Partho Dasgupta and BARC ex-COO Romil Ramgharia as well as VIkas Khanchandani, CEO of Republic Media. The Times Group, as per news reports, has already initiated legal action against BARC.

Several news channels, including Republic TV have been named in the audit report, which lists instances of alleged pre-fixing of ratings of channels by BARC top brass as well as manipulation. Arnab meanwhile has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has alleged that he is being targeted.

Source: Media Reports