Former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen arrested in Durga Puja ticket scam

Former West Bengal Minister Indranil Sen arrives at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office. File | Photo credit: PTI

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Indranil Sen was arrested by the Kolkata Police on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) evening in connection with the Durga Puja ticket scam case. Mr. Sen, a minister during the Mamata Banerjee administration, was summoned for questioning at the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Immediately after leaving the ED office, PČR was detained.

Mr Sen, who is facing allegations of financial irregularities, has avoided being summoned by the ED and the police. He was interrogated by the ED for over 4 hours on Wednesday (October 28) at their office at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake. Officers of the Kolkata Police Detective Branch and Bidhannagar Police maintained a tight cordon around the ED office while he was being questioned. Mr. Sen has been interrogated several times.

“Ex-MIC Indranil Sen has just been arrested by the Kolkata DD Special Cell team in the MassArt case,” Kolkata Police said in a statement. The Calcutta High Court has denied anticipatory bail to the former tourism and culture minister.

The blue-eyed boy of the CPI(M).

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said Mr. Sen had been under investigation for some time. “He was a blue-eyed CPI(M) boy, then he changed parties with time, but BJP’s doors are closed for him; we are not like other parties. We arrested him based on evidence,” Mr Adhikari said, adding that all “such thieves” would end up behind bars.

Mamata-Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “Under the BJP, those who refuse to sell their conscience are sent to jail. Meanwhile, thieves and fraudsters are forgiven for even the heaviest of crimes once they take up the BJP flag.”

The controversy centers on MassArt, which was created after Durga Puja was awarded the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage tag in 2021. Two years later, allegations of impropriety surrounding Mr. Sen’s dealings with the organization surfaced. The outfit is headed by his wife Madhuchanda Sen.

Other MassArt officials are also implicated in these allegations and have been named in the FIR. A FIR has been lodged in this connection at the Bow Bazaar Police Station.

Financial irregularities

Complainant Jaydeep Mukherjee alleged that Mr. Sen misused the name of UNESCO and his position in the government to illegally secure money from people under the banner of MassArt.

ED officials said their investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR lodged at the Bow Bazaar police station.

“The accused allegedly misrepresented their organization as sponsored by UNESCO and collected huge sums of money from the general public through MassArt between 2022 and 2025. Thereafter, the said money was used for personal gain,” the ED said in an official statement.

The ED investigation also alleged that Mr. Sen used the platform for personal financial gains and may have entered into several business deals with Dhruvjyoti Bose, a close associate of Mr. Sen and secretary of MassArt.

“Approximately ₹30 crore was transferred from the bank account of Octave Records, a company owned by Indranil Sen, through banking channels to Mamata Banerjee, former Chief Minister of West Bengal, which Indranil Sen claimed was to be paid as royalties,” the ED statement said.

Mr Adhikari also alleged that if Mr Sen had stolen the money, he had to “share the proceeds with former CM Ms Banerjee” as they were close associates.

As part of this investigation, the ED raided and searched several properties associated with Mr. Sen. His wife and other associates named in the FIR are also under the scanner.

This is the second arrest from a list of ministers of the previous government; the first was Sujit Bose who was arrested by the ED immediately after the BJP came to power in West Bengal. He faces charges of participating in a recruitment scam.

Published – 28 Oct 2026 21:52 IST