Mumbai police claim that Arnab Goswami paid former BARC CEO to manipulate TRPs

The Mumbai police have claimed that Republic chief Arnab Goswami paid a former BARC chief executive officer to "rig" the channel's TRPs, the Times of India reported.

The police made this claim in a remand application seeking further custody of the former CEO, Partho Dasgupta. Dasgupta was arrested on December 24 in connection with the scam. He is the second former BARC official arrested in the case after the arrest of former chief operating officer Romil Ramgarhia earlier this month.

A metropolitan court extended Dasgupta's police custody till December 30.

According to the Times of India, assistant police inspector Sachin Waze said: "In 2017, Goswami paid him [Dasgupta] $6,000 at a star hotel in Lower Parel and sponsored a trip for Dasgupta and his family to Switzerland and Denmark. In 2018, he paid Rs 20 lakh in cash; and in 2019, he paid Rs 10 lakh at a hotel near the airport."

The report added: "Waze said that when Goswami launched Republic TV in 2017, he sought Dasgupta's help in manipulating ratings and took the channel to the No. 1 slot. They knew each other from 2004, Waze said." The police have reportedly seized Dasgupta's "laptop, cell phones, a watch, and silver jewellery".

The police had made similar claims about Ramgarhia, stating that he had "received illegal financial benefits" from a TV channel for "sharing confidential information on the chosen audience for assessing viewership patterns", the Times of India noted.