Indranil Sen arrested in Durga Puja VIP pass scam

Former West Bengal IT Minister and singer Indranil Sen has been arrested by the Kolkata Police Detective Department. The arrest occurred on Wednesday as Sen was leaving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at the Salt Lake CGO Complex.

The investigation involves allegations of a massive financial scam related to the sale of VIP preview passes for Durga Puja pandals. Complainants allege that an organization named ‘massArt’ sold passes for approximately 24 selected puja pandals, falsely claiming to be an ‘official partner’ of UNESCO and using the international organization's name and logo to solicit funds.

Preliminary estimates from the ED suggest the fraudulent scheme involving fake passes may involve between 50 and 60 crore rupees. While the Kolkata Police filed the initial FIR at the Bowbazar police station, the ED has joined the probe due to the scale of the financial irregularities. Previous searches conducted by the ED at Sen’s residences in Kasba and Singur reportedly yielded various documents and inconsistent information.