A Kolkata court has sent former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen to judicial custody until November 21 in a case concerning alleged financial irregularities in Durga Puja pass sales and preview shows. The court also granted his request for first-class prisoner status and directed that arrangements be made for the medicines he takes.
The order followed arguments from the prosecution that the investigation remained at an important stage. The government lawyer told the court that Rs 27 lakh was held in two accounts linked to the accused and that a total of Rs 10 crore had been seized from 27 frozen accounts. Police also recovered 13 documents during a search on Friday, which investigators said still needed to be examined.
The prosecution said it wanted judicial custody rather than allowing the period of police custody to lapse while documents sought from government departments were being collected. The government lawyer also opposed Sen’s bail plea, citing the ongoing investigation. The court was told that the upcoming holidays could delay the receipt of records requested from the government.
Sen’s lawyer questioned why judicial custody was necessary but sought first-class prisoner status for the former minister, citing his political and social standing. The lawyer said copies of orders granting similar status to Sujit Bose and Shantanu Singh Biswas had been submitted to the court. The court accepted Sen’s request. The complainant’s lawyer had argued that the legal basis for granting the status should be examined.
The case relates to an organisation called Mass Art, formed soon after Kolkata’s Durga Puja received UNESCO recognition in 2021. Sen’s wife, Madhuchhanda, was listed as its director. Investigators allege that the organisation was used to sell Durga Puja passes and collect money in the name of preview shows, including through alleged unauthorised use of UNESCO’s name. The Enforcement Directorate is also examining the alleged financial irregularities.
The case has widened beyond the Puja-related allegations. Police are examining claims of irregularities in Tourism Department tenders issued while Sen was minister. According to the report, investigators suspect that his daughter’s bank account was used in transactions connected with the alleged tender-related payments. Police sources cited in the report have claimed that the combined value of the alleged irregularities involving Tourism Department tenders and Puja passes could exceed Rs 100 crore.
Investigators are also examining records relating to at least 150 tenders awarded over the last five years to three companies allegedly known to Sen. Police claim that money moved from accounts linked to these companies to the former minister’s daughter’s account and was later transferred to Sen’s account. The allegations include tenders for installing banners, distributing sweets, decorating roads and placing birthday greetings for actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Police have sought documents relating to these works from the concerned department. The court’s November 21 custody deadline is the next stated milestone in the proceedings, while the investigation continues into the recovered documents, frozen accounts and government tender records.
