Partho Dasgupta, accused in the Television Rating Point (TRP) scam and former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, has been granted bail. Partho Dasgupta, who has been in jail for almost two and a half months, has got bail from the Bombay High Court. Mumbai Police’s Crime Intelligence Unit arrested former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta late on 24 December.
The Mumbai Police had filed a chargesheet in the month of January, which included the names of several others, including Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta. Dasgupta has been accused of manipulating TRP ratings in association with Republic TV officials. Earlier, he had applied for bail in the sessions court, but the application was rejected there, after which Dasgupta moved the High Court.
Uproar after WhatsApp chats leaked
Let us tell you that there was a lot of uproar over the leaking of screenshots of alleged WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta. WhatsApp chats are part of the police chargesheet. From these alleged chats, it seemed that the former CEO of BARC is talking about benefiting the Republic and Arnab is talking about benefiting BARC from his reach in the government.
Police has also named Republic TV COO Priya Mukherjee as an accused in the charge sheet. Police have claimed that BARC’s former COO Romil Ramgarhia had tampered with the TRP ratings of Republic channels for about 40 weeks after the launch of Republic TV, raising the Republic’s TRP. Police had alleged that Partho Dasgupta was involved in this and that he had contacted the officials of Republic TV through WhatsApp chats and official email IDs.
Police claim, Arnab gave $ 12000 to Partho
At the same time, the Mumbai Police has claimed in its chargesheet that Partho Dasgupta, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami, gave $ 12,000 in exchange for tampering with TRP. According to the police chargesheet, Partho Dasgupta has stated in a written statement that he was asked by Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for US $ 12,000 for two holiday packages in three years in exchange for manipulating the ratings in favor of the news channel. A total of 40 lakh rupees were received.
However, Dasgupta’s lawyer categorically denied these things. Partho Dasgupta is currently lodged in Taloja Jail. He was the CEO of BARC from June 2013 to November 2019.
