MUMBAI: BARC India is taking the fight against panel home infiltrators very seriously. After lodging cases against people tampering with home metres in Karnataka, it has now filed a first information report (FIR) against culprits in Telangana.

Five people have also been detained by the police. The FIR was filed by the police after BARC India’s vigilance team found out that the details of the households where BARC India’s BAR-O-Meters are installed were compromised. The FIR has been filed for manipulation, tampering, cheating and breach of trust.

“BARC India over the years has taken a number of measures to curb panel home tampering. However, there are still pockets and people, who continue to indulge in such malpractices. We are continuously investing in technology and on-ground vigilance to curb these malpractices. BARC India has and will continue to take action against those who try and infiltrate our system,” said BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta.

BARC India has also set up a Disciplinary Council headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal to strengthen transparency and credibility of its measurement system. 

In January, the Bengaluru police had acted on an FIR filed by BARC and nabbed five culprits indulging in the same tampering. The five, including a TV producer, went to homes where metres are installed and asked them to watch a particular show at a particular time in return for incentives.

In September 2017, BARC had urged the TRAI and the MIB to bring in legislation making TV viewership data tamper-proof and stipulate stringent penalties for offenders.

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