TRP scam: Former CEO of BARC arrested by Mumbai police

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The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Partho Dasgupta, former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) on Thursday evening in connection with the alleged TRP scam. This is the second person, associated with BARC India, to be arrested in the case. It is the 15th arrest in the TRP scam case.

Dasgupta was arrested from Pune rural which comes under jurisdiction of Rajgad Police Station. After being arrested, he was brought to the Crime Branch and will be produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Friday, December 25.

Also Read: Former chief operating officer of BARC India arrested by Mumbai police

The Mumbai police began a probe into the alleged scam after ratings agency BARC filed a complaint through Hansa Research Agency about the rigging of TRP by some channels.

TRP, measured by recording viewership data at sample households, is crucial for attracting advertisers. BARC India had engaged Hansa to install and maintain barometers that record TV viewership data at sample households.

It was alleged that some of these families were being bribed to tune into certain channels to ramp up their TRP.

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