Kolkata, Oct 15 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen in a cheating case linked to the alleged sale of high-priced preview show tickets for Durga Puja pandals in the city.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh rejected Sen’s anticipatory bail prayer in connection with a criminal case registered against him at Bowbazar police station in Kolkata.
Sen was arrayed in the case based on a complaint by one Joydip Mukherjee at Bowbazar police station, accusing the former minister of cheating common people between 2022 and 2024 in the name of religion through an organisation that allegedly misrepresented its association with UNESCO to sell preview show tickets.
Sen, a singer who held the cultural affairs and tourism portfolios in the previous TMC government, was accused of commercialising the festival through the sale of the tickets.
Seeking anticipatory bail, Sen’s counsel argued that no specific role or overt act had been attributed to him and that the allegations were vague and insufficient to establish criminal liability.
The lawyer also claimed that Sen had been implicated following a change of government in the state.
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar, appearing for the state, submitted that Sen had abused his official position and diverted government funds through MassArt, allegedly used as a shell organisation to route or park the money.
After hearing both sides, Justice Ghosh observed that the state had been able to demonstrate a link between Sen and two entities allegedly involved in routing money to MassArt.
The court noted that office-bearers of the MassArt Society included Sen’s wife, as well as directors and individuals responsible for the day-to-day operations of entities that had received tenders from the Information and Cultural Affairs Department during his tenure.
The judge observed that the state’s allegation that Sen had abused his official position while discharging his duties could not be ruled out at this stage.
“There are trappings of corruption, as government money was diverted through a tender process, which has enriched the petitioner and his family members,” the court observed.
“Petitioner was at the helm of affairs and was primarily responsible being a government servant i.e. the Minister of Information and Cultural Affairs Department,” the court noted.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also questioned Sen in connection with financial transactions related to “MassArt”.
The central agency conducted raids at several locations linked to Sen on September 30 in connection with its inquiry into alleged monetary transactions by selling tickets for preview shows for visiting popular Durga Puja pandals in the city. PTI AMR MNB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.