Bengal's Ex-Minister Indranil Sen Appears Before ED In Durga Puja Event Irregularities Case

West Bengal's former minister Indranil Sen appeared before Enforcement Directorate sleuths on Wednesday for a second round of questioning over alleged financial irregularities in holding Durga Puja preview shows and the sale of passes, an official said.

He said Sen carried several documents, including bank statements, spanning the past 10 years when he reached the ED office here.

"Our officials are examining the documents to establish the flow of funds and determine whether the transactions were consistent with the income and expenditure declared by him," the officer said.

The federal probe agency questioned Sen for several hours on September 30 and subsequently asked him to appear again with records relating to his bank accounts, income, expenditure and financial transactions from 2016 onwards, the official told PTI.

ED earlier said its money laundering probe into a Durga Puja 'preview shows' case found that Sen's 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 ED did not attribute any criminality to the transaction, however.

The case stems from a complaint lodged with the Kolkata Police in June against Sen, his wife and other office-bearers of Mahanirban Road Mass Art Society (massArt) over alleged irregularities in the sale of Durga Puja preview passes. The organisation, headed by Sen's wife, has been conducting Durga Puja preview shows for visitors.

According to the allegations being investigated, massArt collected a substantial amount of money through the preview programmes and passes over a period of nearly three years from 2022. The ED is examining whether any part of the money was diverted for personal benefit.

The federal probe agency is also looking into the organisation's ownership and management, the flow of funds and possible links with influential persons, officials said.

Sen had earlier denied the allegations against him.

"There are irregularities in the award of contracts. It has been alleged that funds amounting to several crores were routed to entities allegedly linked to Sen and his associates," the ED official said.

As part of the investigation, the federal probe agency had conducted searches at around 15 locations, including premises linked to Sen and his office. The agency has also alleged that more than Rs 3.8 crore in cash was deposited into the bank account of Sen's company, 'Octave Records'.