ED attaches ₹32 crore worth assets in TRP scam case
The Hindu
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.With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.