Game over for India Today? CBI registers FIR in TRP Scam after UP Govt recommends probe based on private complaint

Another interesting development has occurred in the ongoing TRP scam. Days after Mumbai Police initiated the explosive chain of events, the Uttar Pradesh Police has registered a private complaint in connection with the matter and the state government had submitted a request to the CBI to take over the investigation. As per latest reports, the CBI has registered an FIR to investigate the TRP scam. It is pertinent to mention that India Today is the channel whose name had initially propped up in first FIR registered in connection with the matter.

As per reports, the UP Government had sought a CBI inquiry into the matter since it is a matter that spans across states. The original complaint pertained to channels indulging in TRP manipulation which gave them an undue advantage. As per information we have received from our sources, the private complaint was registered by one Kamal Sharma, the CIO of Golden Rabbit company. The complaint was registered at Hazratganj Kotwali Police station, Lucknow.

Latest in the TRP Scam saga

An ex-cop had filed a plea at a local court in Mumbai on Tuesday seeking to restrain Arnab Goswami and the Republic News Network from reporting on the TRP scam. He had sought Rs. 5 lakhs in damages claiming that the news network had embarked on a “smear campaign” against Mumbai Police, which was his “heart and soul”, as a consequence of which he had been aggrieved greatly.

Furthermore, it was announced on Monday that Arnab Goswami is all set to sue Mumbai PC Param Bir Singh for Rs 200 crores as damages after the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Government lawyer today in the Bombay High Court admitted that Republic is not named in the FIR in the TRP case. In a news release, the media giant informed that Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director Arnab Goswami has directed his legal team Phoenix Legal to initiate the proceedings to sue Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for Rs 200 crore damages.

Earlier in the day, in a surprising turn of events, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the Mumbai police, contradicting the Police Commissioner’s allegation against Republic TV admitted in Bombay HC that Republic TV is not named in the FIR in the TRP scam case. The Mumbai police seemed to distance itself from the allegations made by the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia