New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Thursday hit out at the Enforcement Directorate after its claims in a case involving former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen, alleging that nearly 98 per cent of the ED cases against politicians were filed against opposition leaders.
TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale also questioned the number of ED cases that had actually reached the trial stage.
“About 98 per cent of ED cases against politicians were filed against opposition leaders. The remaining 2 per cent are those who went and joined the BJP’s ‘washing machine’,” Gokhale said in a statement.
His remarks came after the ED said its probe into alleged financial irregularities in the management of Durga Puja ‘Preview Shows’ by the MassArt society found that a company linked to Sen transferred nearly Rs 30 lakh through banking channels to the bank accounts of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Sen, according to the ED, claimed that the payment was made as “royalty”. The agency did not attribute any criminality to the transaction in its statement.
Gokhale also questioned the number of ED cases that had actually reached the trial stage.
“In the last 11 years, a total of 5,297 cases were filed by ED. How many were taken to court for trial? only 47,” he said.
He claimed that the conviction rate of the agency was 0.7 per cent.
“That means out of every 1000 cases filed, accused were found guilty in only 7 cases. Therefore, out of every 100 cases filed by the ED, only 1 actually makes it to court,” Gokhale said.
The ED said its investigation had found that more than Rs 3.8 crore in cash was deposited into the bank accounts of Sen and his proprietorship concern Octave Records during his tenure.
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 UNESCO’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 AO KVK
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