KOLKATA: Former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen was remanded to police custody till November 10 on Thursday in connection with an alleged money-laundering case involving financial irregularities in Durga Puja preview shows and the sale of entry passes in Kolkata.
Sen, who served as Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs and Tourism in the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, was produced before the Bankshall Court, where the state government pleader sought his custody for further investigation.
Kolkata Police arrested Sen on Wednesday over his alleged links to the case.
Police told the court that, during the inquiry, it was found that Sen had collected a huge amount of money by selling special entry passes in the name of the company massArt during the Durga Puja festivals in 2022 and 2025, using the UNESCO logo despite the international body having barred him from doing so.
The lawyer appearing for the former minister denied the police's claims and said his client had never been involved with the organisation.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court remanded him to police custody for 10 days.
On Wednesday, police took Sen by car to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at CGO Complex, where he had appeared that afternoon after being summoned by the central investigating agency in connection with the money-laundering case involving alleged financial irregularities surrounding Durga Puja ‘preview shows’ and the sale of special entry passes in Kolkata.
Sen was at the CGO Complex for about four hours before Kolkata Police arrested him from the spot.
Earlier, Lalbazar had summoned Sen, a close aide of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, several times for police questioning over alleged corruption charges, but he did not respond.
He has been facing ED questioning since September in connection with the money-laundering case. The central investigating agency may also approach the court seeking his custody, sources said.
Earlier, a day after conducting searches at 15 locations linked to Sen on September 29, the ED questioned him for nearly 10 hours, starting at 11 am on September 30, at its CGO Complex office in Salt Lake.
“Our officers had questioned Sen for nearly 10 hours as part of an investigation into allegations that tickets for Durga Puja events were sold at substantially higher prices. He could not give proper replies to certain questions,” ED sources said.
“We have examined the entire chain of transactions, including the collection and movement of funds, and the role of individuals associated,” the sources said.
On September 29, the ED searched 15 premises linked to Sen and others as part of an alleged money-laundering investigation involving around Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore.
The searches were conducted in connection with alleged financial irregularities involving massArt (Mahanirban Road Mass Art Society), an organisation that hosted Durga Puja preview shows.
According to the ED, massArt, which is headed by Sen's wife, allegedly collected substantial amounts from the public by falsely claiming that the funds were being raised for a UNESCO-sponsored entity.
The agency suspected that the money was subsequently diverted for personal gain, officials said.
The searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The central investigating agency was prompted to conduct the searches following a complaint lodged against the former minister’s wife, Madhuchhanda Sen, and her organisation at the Bowbazar police station in June.
It was alleged that the organisation was formed within about six months after Kolkata’s Durga Puja festival received UNESCO recognition in 2021, when Mamata Banerjee returned to power in West Bengal for a third consecutive term. The organisation claimed to be an ‘official partner’ of UNESCO.
It was also alleged that the organisation had used UNESCO’s name and logo without the international body’s approval.
Sources requesting anonymity said the organisation had sold ‘preview show’ passes for around 24 big-budget pujas at very high prices.
In many cases, the prices of the passes ranged between Rs 1,800 and Rs 5,500 each, sources said.
According to the preliminary investigation, around 19,000 people registered for the ‘preview passes’ in 2022, 34,000 in 2023 and approximately 61,000 in 2024.
Based on these alleged irregularities, different ED teams conducted searches at 15 locations, including Sen’s resort-cum-bungalow in Singur in Hooghly district and his house in the city and its outskirts.
The ED, which is probing the alleged money-laundering case, also claimed that an organisation owned by Sen had transferred Rs 30 lakh to the bank account of then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.