Arnab washes his hands of TRP scam case, says he is concerned with Republic's editorial
text_fields
Mumbai: Responding to the questions raised by the Mumbai police related to the Television Rating Points (TRP) scam case in which he is accused, Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, said he has no involvement in any of the matters related to the case.
The Mumbai police, who have with the details of his allegedly incriminating WhatsApps chats of high ratings of his news channels, complaints made before Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and allegations of manipulation, have sought answers to 68 questions from him, reported The Indian Express.
He repeatedly responded that the channel Republic Media has over 1,100 employees and decisions regarding TRP are taken by the distribution team. He added that he or anyone from the editorial team is not involved in it.
Despite being the co-founder of the channel, Goswami reiterated that the matter was not within his domain and his dominant role is with editorial functions. He added that he is not aware of all the decisions taken at the company.
A month ago, the Mumbai Police charged editor-in-chief, Arnab Goswami, as an accused in the Television Rating Points scam case. The allegations made before the telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) include the same channel showing two different frequencies (dual LCN), manipulation of barometers installed in homes, meddling with the reports at Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) – the industry body that measures TRP.
The charge sheet has named five employees including Goswami and former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta.
The police had sought answers to 68 questions. The authorities have also found incriminating WhatsApp chats. The 1,912 pages long supplementary charge included the chats of employees where the dual LCN is being discussed.
This is the third charge sheet being filed since the complaints were made by the News Broadcasters Association last month. The police insist that as the MD of ARG Outliers Media Pvt Ltd., Arnab Goswami's approval is needed to carry out the alleged manipulation and make illegal payments to home operators and cable service providers
Goswami alleged that the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) is just a trade association that files complaints against those who are not its members. He added that Republic Media is not involved in TRP manipulation or any kind of malpractice.