The chief executive of Republic TV, Vikas Khanchandani, is being questioned by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police in the case involving the alleged rigging of television ratings for profit. The owners of two TV channels -- Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema -- have been arrested in the case, the Mumbai Police had announced on Thursday.
Mumbai Police chief Parambir Singh had said the facts emerged during a larger analysis of manipulation of news trends and how a "false narrative" was being spread, especially regarding the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput's death.
It showed the three channels were tweaking ratings to get high advertising rates, a procedure that amounts to fraud. The households being monitored for ratings are being bribed to run the channels concerned, the police said.
Denying the accusations, the Republic TV said they were being targeted for their coverage of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, where they have questioned the role of the police.
The channel also said they will sue the police for defamation.
