Kolkata, Oct. 28 -- Former state Tourism minister and Trinamool Congress leader Indranil Sen was arrested by Kolkata Police on Wednesday evening from Salt Lake, shortly after emerging from a four-hour interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its CGO Complex office.
Sen was arrested around 5 pm outside the ED office. The arrest follows a series of setbacks in the higher judiciary. After the Calcutta High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, Sen moved the Supreme Court seeking interim protection. However, on Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta recused himself from hearing the matter.
The Bowbazar Police Station case against Sen stems from a multi-agency probe into alleged financial irregularities involving massArt (Mass Art Society), an organisation headed by his wife, Madhuchhanda Sen. The FIR also names Madhuchhanda, massArt secretary Dhrubajyoti Bose, vice-president Sayantan Maitra and treasurer Rajan Chatterjee. According to sources, the organisation allegedly exploited the international recognition of Kolkata's Durga Puja, which received UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage tag in 2021, by falsely suggesting an official corporate partnership with the international body. Under this banner, it allegedly generated more than Rs 50 crore through the unauthorised sale of premium Durga Puja preview passes and VIP tickets.
Following his arrest, Sen was escorted under heavy security to Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar.
Kolkata Police, however, informed that the exact amount of cheating and money trail is getting verified. "No precise figure can be commented at present. The complaint made is of Rs 34 grote," said a senior Kolkata Police official.
Meanwhile, CM Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the investigation against Sen pointed to a wider political network. He claimed that the probe could eventually bring more prominent figures under scrutiny, "including former CM Mamata Banerjee, as Rs 30 lakh was transferred to her account".
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.