Why Mumbai police held press conference over TRP scam, asks Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked what had prompted the Mumbai police to hold a press conference last year over the alleged Television Rating Points TRP scamDoes the police have an obligation to interact with the press Why did the commissioner of police have to speak to the press a bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale askedThe court was hearing pleas filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd the company that owns Republic TV channels and by journalist Arnab Goswami seeking among other reliefs that the Mumbai polices probe into the TRP scam be transferred to the CBI or any other independent agencyThe bench was responding to the arguments made by the ARG Outlier Medias counsel senior advocate Ashok MundargiMundargi told the high court that the police had malafide intentions behind holding the press conference in October last yearHe also said there was no evidence against Republic TV and its EditorinChief Arnab Goswami but the police were trying to name them as accused by hook or by crookThe police were feeding the press that a particular scam took place This points out that there was not sufficient material to say whatever was being said Mundargi arguedHe also said the police had arrested some employees of the ARG Outlier Media and named them as accused in their remand applicationsHowever in the chargesheet the police had named the channel and ARG Outlier Medias employees merely as suspects he saidMundargi also said that Sachin Waze who had been handling the probe into the alleged scam and who is now suspended over his alleged involvement in another case was a controversial officerThe investigation has taken a peculiar angle In the chargesheet they are suspects they are arrested and then they are shown as wanted accused Mundargi saidThe officer Waze is also very controversial This is the chain of events he saidThe HC will continue hearing the final arguments in the case on WednesdayThe Maharashtra governments statement made earlier this month to refrain from taking any coercive action against Goswami and the ARG Outlier Medias employees will continue till thenThe ARG Outlier Media and Goswami approached the HC last year filing a bunch of petitions seeking several reliefs in the TRP scamThey alleged that the whole case was malafide and they had been targeted for Republic TVs reportage in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the Palghar lynching case last yearThe Mumbai police in January this year filed two affidavits in the TRP case through Commissioner of Police Param Singh and ACP Shashank Sandbhor of the crime branch saying they had not targeted the Republic TV or its employeesThe police said their probe into the case was not a result of any political vendetta and there was evidence to show that Goswami had connived with senior officials of the Broadcast Audience Research Council BARC to rig the TRP of Republic TVThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever