 "Republic TV CEO arrested in ratings scandal probe; 13th to be held in case")
Vikas Khanchandani, CEO of Republic TV, was arrested in Mumbai Sunday morning in an alleged case of fixing ratings, media reports said.
Khanchandani was arrested by the crime branch of the Mumbai police at his residence and he would be produced before a holiday court this afternoon, reported the Times of India.
Khanchandani is the 13th person to be arrested in the case so far. The arrest of the top executive came less than a week after the Supreme Court turned down a plea from ARG Outlier Media Private Limited, which owns the Republic Media network, seeking protection for the group and its employees, said NDTV.com.
"The attempt clearly is to attempt and force Republic Media Network out of Mumbai. But we will not go anywhere," said Arnab Goswami, the channel’s editor-in-chief, according to the channel on Twitter.
The crime branch is probing Republic TV and five other TV channels for allegedly manipulating their viewership figures, a parameter that media buying houses consider while buying advertisements spots.
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