The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹32 crore in connection with the Television Rating Point (TRP) scam case registered by the Mumbai Police.
The assets, in the form of land and commercial and residential units, are located in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Indore in Madhya Pradesh. They are linked to television channels Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and Maha Movie. The ED probe has revealed that the proceeds of the alleged crime for these channels was ₹46 crore.
The agency found that confidential information of households where bar-o-meters were installed was revealed by relationship managers to various unscrupulous elements for pecuniary gains and, thereafter, the households were bribed and induced to watch specific channels, which fraudulently enhanced their TRP. Advertisers were allegedly deceived on the basis of rigged ratings.
It is alleged that in the case of two of the channels in question, just five compromised households were contributing to about 25% of the viewership in Mumbai for the relevant period and for the third channel, five compromised households were contributing to about 12 % of the viewership in Mumbai.
About 1,800 bar-o-meters have been installed in Mumbai. Close to 44,000 units have been installed across the country.
