MUMBAI: A day after Cyberabad police in Hyderabad registered cases of cheating and forgery against TV9 CEO Ravi Prakash, the new board of directors at Associated Broadcasting Private Ltd (ABCPL) announced that he and chief financial officer MKVN Murthy have been removed from their posts with immediate effect. The board also announced the names of Mahendra Mishra and Singa Rao as the interim CEO and new COO, respectively.

Prakash sent his resignation to the board of directors hours before the formal announcement was made at a press conference. In a letter addressed to the board members, Prakash alleged that the newly constituded board is comprised of representatives of several political topshots and is a threat to the sancity of media organisations.

The controversy started evolving after Alanda Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd, incorporated in June 2018, acquired 90.54 per cent stake in Associated Broadcasting Pvt Ltd (ABCPL), last August. ABCPL is the holding company of TV9 network.

Alanda Media then nominated P Kaushik Rao, Jupally Rameshwar Rao, Sambasiva Rao Sangu, and Srinivas Rao Aravapalli as directors on the board of ABCPL. However, Prakash allegedly tried to obstruct their entry to the board and did not file the information with the Registrar of Companies. He along with Murthy, allegedly removed the company secretary by “forging his signature”, so that he cannot upload the details of new directors with the RoC.

Alanda Media & Entertainments Private Ltd additional director P Kaushik Rao filed cases of forgery and cheating against Prakash at the Cyberabad Police Station in Hyderabad, following which the latter was also quizzed by the department.