Published 12:39 IST, October 9th 2020
FIR named India Today, so what did Param Bir Singh do? Here's how Republic was targeted
Just six hours after his press conference on Friday, Param Bir Singh stood right-royally exposed and is currently facing mass demands for his resignation
On Thursday, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh addressing a press conference claimed to have busted a "racket of manipulation of TRP" and named Republic TV, along with two other Marathi channels. He said that four persons have been arrested including owners of both the Marathi channels -Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema. Param Bir Singh said that Mumbai Police has found that former employees of Hansa Research Group were paid to manipulate ratings in their favour. He also stated that Mumbai Police will further probe the matter and accounts of Republic TV may be frozen. However, just six hours later, Param Bir Singh stood right-royally exposed and is currently facing mass demands for his resignation.
In a big twist that exposed Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's witch-hunt against Republic TV, the FIR filed by the Mumbai police on October 1 showed the name of India Today and not Republic TV. As the revelation exposed the conspiracy and the lie of Mumbai Police, Param Bir Singh was forced to admit that India Today's name was mentioned in the FIR, following which he attempted a face-saver.
Where was India Today named?
The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) under the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India measures the TRPs of channels with barometers. This installation of barometers was done by a company called Hansa Research Group.
Mumbai Police Commissioner said that the crime branch has found a massive TRP scam. Mumbai Police then arrested Vishal Ved Bhandari, Relationship Manager of Hansa on October 6. Bhandari revealed to Mumbai Police that India Today and other channels instigated him and offered money to panel homes, where Bar-O-Meter is installed for "increased ratings." He added that a manipulative TRP rating causes several advertisers to part with a huge sum of money to undeserving channels. The Mumbai Police on October 6 lodged FIR naming India Today and other channels but not Republic TV.
Then how did Param Bir Singh named Republic TV?
Mumbai Police then issued notice to BARC on October 7, and said that Republic TV is being investigated as Vishal Ved Bhandari who has been arrested has claimed that he manipulated barometers to watch Republic TV for monetary consideration. The notice was given to the BARC under Section 91 CRPC and named Republic TV, while completely omitted the name of India Today.
Later, when Republic TV accessed the October 6 FIR copy, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said that India Today's name appeared in the initial stage of investigation, but was not substantiated by witnesses. In his press conference, however, he did not mention India Today even once. Neither did he clarify if Police investigated India Today in the matter, and what is evident is that he gave India Today a clean chit within hours. His proceed to appear on India Today after levelling allegations on Republic in an act that has, along with everything else, led to mass calls for .
What the witness said:
Republic accesses FIR
In the FIR filed by the Mumbai police, it was found that contrary to Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's allegations naming Republic TV, the arrested Relationship manager of the Hansa Research Group Private Limited - Vishal Bhandari has named India Today and other channels to allegedly 'increase ratings'.
Two employees of Hansa- which is responsible for installing and maintaining the Bar-O-Meter of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) - Dy General Manager Nitin Deokar and Relationship Manager Vishal have recorded their statements with the Mumbai police. Bhandari has revealed that India Today and other channels instigated him and offered money to panel homes, where Bar-O-Meter is installed.
Moreover, Deokar revealed that a person named Vinay asked Bhandari in November 2019 to approach 5 homes and ask them to watch India Today daily for two hours. As per Bhandari’s own confession to the BARC Vigilance team, Vinay paid him Rs.5000 as commission for distributing Rs.1000 among 5 panel homes. An audit inquiry by BARC confirmed that 5 households were indeed bribed to watch India Today daily for minimum two hours from November 2019 to May 2020.
Arnab issues statement
After it came to light that India Today has been mentioned multiple times in the FIR over which Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had attempted to implicate Republic TV, Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Thursday demanded the resignation of the Mumbai CP. Observing that Singh had been totally exposed, he stressed that Republic TV was not even mentioned in the FIR copy accessed by the Network. Arnab noted that India Today was the channel for which financial compensation was allegedly provided to gain viewership. He expressed dismay that the Mumbai Police Commissioner had closed the investigation against India Today and instead, addressed a presser accusing Republic TV.
Updated 06:37 IST, October 27th 2020