No evidence against Republic TV in TRP rigging case, says ED's charge sheet
Mumbai, Sep 22: No evidence was found against Republic TV in the alleged TRP rigging scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed in its charge sheet filed before a special court here.
The Mumbai police's probe in this respect was "at variance with its probe, the central agency said in the charge sheet. At the same time, the ED also said that it found evidence that some regional and entertainment channels were involved in manipulating Television Rating Points (TRP) by paying sample or `panel' households.
Judge M G Deshpande of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court here took cognizance of the charge sheet on Wednesday. The ED filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is equivalent to a police FIR, in November 2020.
The ECIR followed the First Information Report registered by Mumbai Police against Republic TV, two Marathi channels and a few individuals for alleged TRP manipulation.
The scam came to light when ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group.
The ED charge sheet said there was a wider conspiracy between channel viewers, agents and regional managers to influence/induce panel households to watch certain channels for monetary gains. TRP is dependent on small statistical data of nearly 1800 households in Mumbai and 45000 households all over India, it noted.
It is very difficult to pinpoint when the manipulation started, but various channel owners manipulated the system for a considerable period of time, it said.
Channels such as Maha Movies, Box Cinema, Fakt Marathi and others entered into a criminal conspiracy with Bompalli Mistry, a former top executive of Hansa group in the garb of a cable reach survey, it said.
The alleged role of Republic TV (ArG Outliers) in bribing/influencing panel households to watch republic TV or Republic Bharat channels was probed thoroughly. It then became evident that the investigation done by Mumbai police was at variance with the investigation done by the ED, the charge sheet said.
The panel households denied having taken money for watching Republic TV or Republic Bharat, it said.
Regional managers who confessed to paying household panels to watch select television channels denied doing the same for Republic TV, the charge sheet said.
No evidence of Republic TV or Republic Bharat indulging in these practises was forthcoming "either by the statement or by digital data evidence," it added.
The forensic audit report relied upon by Mumbai police was superficial and based on the analysis of limited aspects", the charge sheet said.
Mahesh Bompalli had complete knowledge of the manipulation of TRP in respect of channels like Box cinema and Fakt Marathi, said the ED.
Bompalli and owners of Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi, among others, have been named as accused in the charge sheet.
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Passing out parade held at IMA Dehradun, 491 young officers join Indian Army
Dehradun(PTI): After undergoing rigorous training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, 491 cadets participated in a grand Passing Out Parade on Saturday and will now be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army.
The spectacular parade, held at the historic Drill Square in front of the academy's Chatwood Building, was reviewed by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who served as the reviewing officer.
Along with 491 Indian cadets, 34 foreign cadets from 14 friendly countries also participated in the Autumn Term 2025 Passing Out Parade.
A total of 525 officer cadets from the 157th Regular Course, 46th Technical Entry Scheme, 140th Technical Graduate Course, 55th Special Commissioned Officers Course, and Territorial Army Online Entrance Exam 2023 Course participated in the Passing Out Parade.
The 'Sword of Honour' and gold medal for securing first place during training was awarded to ACA Nishkal Dwivedi, the silver medal to BUO Badal Yadav for second place, and the bronze medal to SUO Kamaljeet Singh for third place.
The silver medal for securing first place in the 'Technical Graduate Course' was awarded to Officer Cadet Jadhav Sujit Sampat, and the silver medal for first place in the 'Technical Entry Scheme-46' was awarded to WCC Abhinav Mehrotra.
The silver medal for the 'Special Commission Officer Course' was given to Officer Cadet Sunil Kumar Chhetri.
Among the foreign cadets, the first place in merit was secured by JUO Mohammad Safin Ashraf from Bangladesh. The Army Chief's Banner for overall best performance in the Autumn Term was awarded to Imphal Company.
As the parade concluded, helicopters showered flowers on the newly commissioned officers from the sky.
On this occasion, General Dwivedi congratulated the new officers in his address for successfully completing their training. He praised the young officers for their high level of discipline, leadership qualities, and endurance, and urged them to uphold the glorious traditions of the Indian Army and serve the nation with loyalty, commitment, and honour.
General Dwivedi said that joining the army marks the beginning of a lifelong duty and selfless service.
The parents and guardians of the newly commissioned officers were also present during the passing out parade.
