KOLKATA: Former West Bengal Minister Indranil Sen, who has been arrested by Kolkata Police in connection with an alleged fake Durga Puja pass scam linked to UNESCO-tagged festival tours, will be presented at a lower court on Thursday, and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody for further interrogation.
He was arrested on Wednesday evening. An insider from the city police said that first he will be taken for medical examination from the Kolkata Police headquarters, and thereafter he will be presented at the city court.
“A detailed interrogation of the former state minister is necessary to know about other beneficiaries not just in the fake Durga Puja pass scam, but also in other cases of financial irregularities where he got involved during his tenure as a member of the state cabinet during the previous regime. Hence, the public prosecutor will seek his custody,” said an insider of the city police associated with the investigation against Sen.
In fact, immediately after his arrest, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari gave a subtle hint when he said that other influential persons who were beneficiaries in the alleged scams in which Sen had been accused would not be spared.
The CM also indirectly targeted his predecessor and the former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, without directly naming the latter.
“Sen made his fortune taking advantage of his ministerial position and using his proximity to the former West Bengal Chief Minister. Sen and the former Chief Minister used to sing duets in government programmes. Surely, Sen is not the only one in the previous cabinet who had made his fortune using the ministerial position. The share surely had reached the higher levels. They will not be spared either. Just wait and watch,” CM Adhikari said, reacting to Sen’s arrest.
Kolkata Police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) were conducting parallel probes into the alleged fake Durga Puja pass scam. Sen was arrested on Wednesday evening as he came out of the ED’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata after facing a marathon interrogation in the matter.
Earlier this month, the ED issued a statement naming former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with a transaction involving Sen-owned Octave Records.
According to the agency, nearly Rs 30 lakh was allegedly transferred from the company’s accounts to Banerjee through banking channels. Sen, however, maintained that the payment was made as royalty.
Separately, a judicial inquiry commission constituted by the state government to investigate alleged institutional corruption during the previous Trinamool Congress regime has initiated an inquiry involving Sen.
The commission is examining alleged multi-crore irregularities in the tendering process of the state’s Information and Cultural Affairs Department, where Sen had served as Minister of State. The inquiry is separate from the money laundering investigation being conducted by the ED