The Uddhav Thackeray government on Wednesday issued an order withdrawing its general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in Maharashtra. As per the order, the CBI will require state's permission to carry out any investigations in Maharashtra, stripping the central agency of its powers to intervene in cases relating to the state.
The decision does not impact the Sushant Singh Rajput case, which is already being investigated by the CBI on the orders of the Supreme Court. The order comes just a day after UP government registered an FIR against one suspect in the TRP case and handed the investigation to the CBI.
Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government sees this as a move by UP government to interfere in the ongoing probe against Republic TV being conducted by Mumbai Police. CBI's involvement in the TRP scandal was viewed as an attempt to dilute the case against Republic TV.
What is the TRP scandal?
TRPs are a way to measure the popularity of a channel by advertising agencies, which affect pricing. The TRP points are calculated by BARC board using a device installed in more than 45,000 households across the country.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, IPS said the city police is probing an alleged TRP scam where certain news channels manipulated BARC data to boost their ratings. He identified Republic TV, Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema by name. He further stated that over 30,000 barometers have been installed in India and Mumbai alone has 2,000 barometers, exposing the scam.
The Mumbai Police has arrested 8 people in the case. The investigation is underway.
