Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently gave the issue of alleged manipulation of Television Rating Points (TRP) a sharp turn after registering an FIR. The taking over of the probe by the central agency from Lucknow police on the recommendation of Uttar Pradesh government raises the doubt that the UP government is possibly trying to play to the tunes of the central masters with the intent to weaken the case against Republic TV. It looks like somebody is so scared by the investigation being carried out by Mumbai police into the TRP scam that the case is now being thrown on the desk of CBI through the reference of UP government.

On the complaint of a person named Kamal Sharma, a case was registered in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station, which was transferred to the CBI. The FIR has been registered against unidentified people. The charges in the FIR include manipulating the TRPs using forged means.

Earlier this month, the alleged scam was brought to light by Mumbai police, which registered a case. Republic TV is one of the four channels being investigated under the issue by the Mumbai police. The police have arrested six people so far, in connection with the scam. The TRP scam by channels like Republic TV allegedly involves inducing homes which form the sample set, whose TV viewing is monitored to ensure that certain channels get higher ratings. These ratings are a key influencer of advertiser preferences while placing commercials.

Last week, ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd, which owns Republic TV and its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami moved the Bombay high court seeking to quash the FIR lodged by the Mumbai police against the channel in the TRP case. A petition was filed by the channel in the high court on October 16, a day after the Supreme Court refused to hear a plea of one of the senior officials of the channel challenging the summons issued by the Mumbai police.

The Crime Branch unit under Mumbai police had earlier registered an FIR under various sections of Indian Penal Code for cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy against Republic TV and its senior officials, and also against two other local regional channels.

On the basis of a complaint by the regional director of an advertising company called Golden Rabbit Communications, the CBI has taken over an FIR registered by the Lucknow Police. Questions are being raised about this move by the CBI, as this might have impact the ongoing investigation by Mumbai Police, which has implicated Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV which is engaged in a fracas with the Maharashtra government and the police.

The complaint by the regional director of Golden Rabbit Communications goes into great intricate details to explain the TRP calculation process. It also explains the importance of TRPs to advertisers and investors, and therefore, the losses that can be caused by rigging TRPs.

However, the details in the FIR make no reference to any specific details of the TRP scam, including who is alleged to have manipulated the TRP system. The complaint seems to have come out of thin air by some vested interests, in contrast to the complaint registered with Mumbai police, which had been given by a BARC-affiliated research agency.

The complaint on which CBI is taking over the case under UP government’s reference, does not even describe how the various parties went about carrying out the scam, which makes it look like a red herring planted by someone wishing to derail the investigation by the Mumbai Police.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.