A Kolkata Police investigation into alleged corruption involving former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen has widened to examine how three companies repeatedly secured government event-management tenders from the Information and Cultural Affairs and Tourism departments, according to a report by Anandabazar. Investigators have also frozen transactions in 28 bank accounts linked to the alleged financial network.
Sen was arrested recently in connection with allegations of corruption in the sale of passes for viewing Durga Puja celebrations using the UNESCO logo. According to the report, investigators told a court that their inquiry had uncovered additional suspected irregularities involving government contracts issued during his tenure.
Documents reviewed by Anandabazar reportedly show the same three companies participating in several tenders for state-supported festivals and events. In one tender issued by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department for the 2025 Jagaddhatri Puja in Chandannagar, three companies participated. One bid was rejected for procedural reasons, while another company won the contract with the lowest bid of Rs 4,45,115 after the tender was opened on October 29.
The report said the same three companies also participated in a tender for the state’s Rajya Dibas event at the Dhanadhanya auditorium in February this year. The company that had finished second in the Chandannagar tender received work worth nearly Rs 45 lakh in that process. The three firms were also involved in the department’s tender for the Barisha Poush festival in December 2024. The company whose application had earlier been rejected won that contract for about Rs 39 lakh.
Sen handled the Information and Cultural Affairs Department for nearly nine years during the second Trinamool Congress government. From 2023, he also held additional responsibility for the Tourism Department. Anandabazar reported that the same three companies appeared in tender documents for several Tourism Department contracts during that period, including the Bishnupur Music Festival in December 2025. One of the companies received a contract valued at about Rs 85 lakh.
Investigators have claimed that the three companies participated in around 80 per cent of the tenders issued for various works by the two departments, with few or no other event-management firms taking part. The report said investigators believe Kolkata has several other companies capable of organising such events.
The police have not alleged that Sen was directly connected to the three companies, according to the report. Investigators are examining their links with Dhrubajyoti Basu, also known as Shubho, who has been arrested in the case, and his company Mas Art. They are also examining alleged financial transactions involving the companies, Sen and members of his family. Investigators have told the court that Sen may have benefited financially through political influence, but that claim remains part of the ongoing investigation.
The preliminary tender review reportedly placed the value of contracts received by the Rajdanga-based company from the Information and Cultural Affairs Department at around Rs 60 crore up to 2025, with another Rs 4 crore from the Tourism Department. A second company, based on Hazra Road, allegedly received about Rs 61 crore from the Information and Cultural Affairs Department and Rs 5 crore from Tourism. The third company, located on Durgacharan Mitra Street, reportedly received contracts worth around Rs 20 crore from Information and Cultural Affairs and less than Rs 1 crore from Tourism.
Police investigators also suspect that some tender bids may have quoted prices higher than prevailing market rates. They are expected to question officials of different ranks who were involved in the tendering process to determine how the three companies repeatedly obtained contracts. Investigators are also examining whether the suspected irregularities extend beyond the alleged concentration of contracts.
Kolkata Police detectives searched Sen’s residence in Kasba again on Friday while looking for documents, according to the report. Investigators have indicated that the suspected amount involved in the alleged corruption has crossed Rs 150 crore, although the figure could change as the inquiry progresses. Police are also taking legal advice on adding specific provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Sen in connection with alleged wrongdoing while holding public office.
