New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said its money laundering probe into a Durga Puja ‘preview shows’ case involving former minister Indranil Sen found that his company transferred Rs 30 lakh through banking channels to former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Sen claimed this was a “royalty” amount, the agency said.
In its press release, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not attribute any criminality to the transaction, however.
TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale slammed the ED, accusing it of partisan action. “About 98% cent of ED cases against politicians were filed on Opposition leaders. The remaining 2% are those who went & joined the BJP’s washing machine,” he said.
The ED raided premises linked to Sen and questioned him at its Kolkata office following searches this week.
The searches relate to a case concerning alleged financial irregularities committed by the MassArt (Mahanirban Road Mass Art) Society, which his wife, Madhuchhanda Sen, and others promoted, while managing its Durga Puja ‘Preview Shows’.
“Investigation has revealed that cash of more than Rs 3.8 crore was deposited into the bank accounts of Indranil Sen and his proprietorship concern Octave Records during his tenure.
“Also, from the bank account of Octave Records, a sum of nearly Rs 30 lakh was transferred via banking channels to Mamata Banerjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, which Indranil Sen has claimed was paid in the form of royalty,” the ED claimed.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed at Bowbazar Police Station against Sen, his wife, and others who were alleged to have collected money from the public through MassArt between 2022 and 2025 by falsely claiming to be a UNESCO-sponsored entity and subsequently using the funds for personal gain.
The ED claimed that the accused “systematically commercialised” Durga Puja viewing, effectively converting a public festival into a commercial enterprise for personal gain.
It said the accused, through MassArt, sold tickets priced between Rs 1,749 and Rs 5,499 to the general public for ‘Preview Shows’ across 24 Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata.
A core element of this “fraudulent” scheme was MassArt’s “deceptive” and “unauthorised” exploitation of UNSCO’s name, goodwill, and logo for commercial purposes, it said.
The agency found that over two years, 2023 and 2024, more than one lakh such tickets were issued and the proceeds were siphoned off, either through cash withdrawals from the bank or by being written off under the guise of miscellaneous expenses. PTI NES AO SKL VN
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