Maharashtra govt blocks CBI from probing cases in state without seeking ‘consent’

The Maharashtra government Wednesday withdrew the “general consent” granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), curtailing the agency’s powers to probe cases in the state. The agency will now have to approach the state government for permission to initiate the investigation on a case by case basis.

This comes a day after the central probe agency registered an FIR in the TRP ‘scam’ case based on a reference from the Uttar Pradesh Police. The case, which was earlier registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on a complaint of an advertising company promoter, was handed over to the CBI by the UP government.

On October 8, the Mumbai police had claimed it had busted a “racket” of “fraudulent” manipulation of Television Rating Points (TRPs) involving three channels including Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV.