Arrested ex-CEO of BARC was ‘mastermind’ of fake TRP racket: police

Mumbai police claimed on Friday that former CEO of the Broadcast Research Audience Council (BARC) Parth Dasgupta played the main role in the manipulation of TRP of certain TV channels including Republic TV.

Republic Media Network, in a statement earlier in the day, said the police’s allegations were laughable. The sole objective of the probe was to target Republic TV, it said.

The crime branch of Mumbai Police on Thursday nabbed 55-year-old Dasgupta in Pune district when he was heading for Pune from Goa. On Friday he was produced before a Mumbai court which sent him in police custody till December 28.