The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Octave Records, a record label and recording studio run by former West Bengal minister and singer Indranil Sen, transferred Rs 30 lakh to Mamata Banerjee while investigating an alleged Rs 60 crore Durga Puja pass scam in Kolkata.
The agency said the payment was made through banking channels and was described by Sen as royalty for Banerjee’s books, lyrics and music compositions. The allegation was included in a two-page ED release issued on Thursday, after the agency questioned Sen for around nine hours at its Kolkata headquarters.
Sen was questioned a day after the ED searched 15 addresses linked to him, his aides and relatives. He did not respond to reporters while entering or leaving the agency’s office. The investigation also involves his wife, Madhuchhanda Sen, who is president of mass Art. The Calcutta High Court is hearing an anticipatory bail petition filed by the couple, with the matter scheduled to come up again on Monday.
According to the ED, more than Rs 3.8 crore in cash was deposited into the bank accounts of Sen and his proprietorship concern, Octave Records, during his tenure. The agency said nearly Rs 30 lakh was transferred from Octave Records to Banerjee, who was then chief minister, and that Sen described the payment as royalty. The release did not specify whether the transfer formed part of the money-laundering case being pursued against Sen and his wife.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh rejected the ED’s contention, calling it a politically motivated attempt to distort the facts. Ghosh said Banerjee had long received royalties for her books, lyrics and musical compositions, and that Sen’s organisation marketed those works in West Bengal and beyond.
Ghosh said the payment was made through banking transactions after deduction of tax at source and was declared in Banerjee’s income-tax returns. He argued that royalty received by a lyricist or composer was a standard commercial arrangement and that Banerjee should not be linked to the independent actions of a company.
The central agency has separately alleged that mass Art commercialised access to Durga Puja viewing by selling tickets for preview shows at 24 pandals in Kolkata. The ED said the tickets were priced between Rs 1,749 and Rs 5,499 and alleged that the organisation used the name, goodwill and logo of Unesco without authorisation for commercial purposes.
The agency said more than one lakh tickets were issued across 2023 and 2024. It alleged that the proceeds were subsequently moved through cash withdrawals from bank accounts or recorded as miscellaneous expenses. These claims remain allegations made as part of the ongoing investigation.
The ED has also alleged that multiple tenders worth more than Rs 85 crore from the tourism and cultural department were awarded during Sen’s tenure to entities owned by Dhrubajyoti Bose and Dipesh Roy, whom it described as Sen’s close associates. According to the agency, the two later transferred substantial sums to entities controlled by Sen’s relatives, while entities that secured the tenders made large cash withdrawals.
The next immediate development is the Calcutta High Court hearing on the anticipatory bail petition filed by Sen and his wife. The ED’s investigation and the court proceedings will determine how the agency’s allegations are tested and whether further action follows.
