Ex-Bengal minister Indranil Sen arrested in Durga Puja pass scam

Former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen was arrested by the Police on Wednesday over alleged corruption linked to financial irregularities in the sale of entry passes for Durga Puja preview shows in Kolkata. According to sources, police took Sen, who had held the information and cultural affairs and tourism portfolios in the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at CGO Complex.
Sen has been arrested in an alleged Rs 50-60 crore financial irregularities case involving MassArt Society, an organisation with which he and his wife were allegedly associated. The ED and Kolkata Police are separately investigating alleged irregularities involving MassArt Society. He has been facing questioning by the ED since September in connection with the money-laundering case. A day after conducting searches at 15 locations linked to Sen on September 29, the ED questioned him for nearly 10 hours, beginning at 11 am, at its Salt Lake CGO Complex office on September 30. 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.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the former West Bengal tourism minister had not acted alone and that the alleged scam could not have taken place without Mamata Banerjee's knowledge. “Indranil and Mamata used to travel in the same car and sing songs together,” Adhikari said, suggesting that Sen had not been the sole beneficiary of the alleged proceeds and that the former chief minister, too, may have been involved.
In June, Kolkata Police registered an FIR against Sen, his wife Madhuchhanda and associates of MassArt Society based on a complaint filed by Jaydeep Mukherjee at Bowbazar police station. The FIR was registered under Sections 316(2), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The ED subsequently launched a separate investigation.