Hansa asking for CBI probe with ulterior motives: Mumbai Police

Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra government have condemned the Hansa Group's move to bring the CBI probe into the TRP scam, in an affidavit filed in the Mumbai High Court. They alleged that the firm had 'ulterior motives' and was unfairly accusing the police of having harassed them during the investigation.

The affidavit filed by the state government and police stated that the preliminary forensic audit revealed ties between Hansa and several accused in the TRP scam including ARG Outlier Media which owns Republic TV.

"…There have been suspicious transaction (sic) of Rs 32 lakh between Hansa Group company and ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd," the affidavit was quoted as saying by Times of India. "… And the "information was concealed from BARC and the police."

In addition to this, the police alleged that Hansa Group had been avoiding cooperation with them in the investigation.

In November last year, the Hansa Research Group had filed a petition alleging harassment by API Sachin Vaze of the Mumbai Police, whom they accused of detaining employees and pressurising them to disown the "Hansa Report" which Republic TV was using to claim innocence in the case. A CBI probe was requested as part of the petition.

The TRP manipulation scam broke in October 2020 after reports emerged suggesting large scale TRP rigging by several major and minor television channels including Republic TV, India Today and Fakht Marathi.