Another person arrested in TRP scam
Mumbai: Mumbai Police has made a ninth arrest in the Television Rating Points (TRP) rigging case, an official said on Friday.
Harish Kamlakar Patil (45), a resident of suburban Chandivali, was arrested by the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the crime branch which is probing the case.
Patil was apprehended on Thursday evening after his name cropped up during the interrogation of Ramji Sharma and Dinesh Vishwakarma, former employees of Hansa research agency, he said.
It was suspected that Patil took money from some TV channels to fraudulently ramp up TRP, he said.
Investigation revealed that there were some financial transactions between Patil and absconding accused Abhishek Kothawale who runs a company named Max Media.
Patil allegedly helped Kothawale to flee from the city after the probe began, he said.
Patil owns some shell companies, the official said, adding that the bank account of one of these companies was suspected to have been used to receive money from some news channels.
The money was distributed by Kothawale to some of the arrested accused who used it to bribe the households, from where viewership data was being collected, to watch a particular channel, the official said.
Chief finance officer of Republic TV S Sundaram and distribution head Ghanshyam Singh have been questioned by the CIU this week, he said.
The alleged fake TRP scam came to light when rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint with the police through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain channels were rigging TRP numbers to lure advertisers.
It was alleged that some families at whose houses meters for collecting data of viewership were installed were being bribed to tune into a particular channel.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
