Kolkata, Oct 29 — A lower court in Kolkata on Thursday remanded the former West Bengal Tourism Minister and former Minister of State for Information & Cultural Affairs, Indranil Sen, to 13 days of police custody in the case registered against him by Kolkata Police, accusing him of involvement in an alleged fake Durga Puja pass scam linked to UNESCO-tagged festival tours.
Sen, a singer-turned-politician, was arrested by Kolkata Police on Wednesday. He was presented to a lower court in Kolkata on Thursday. The public prosecutor sought 13 days of police custody for Sen, which the court granted after the hearing concluded.
During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Abhijit Chattopadhyay informed the court that in 2025, an entity named "Mass Art Society", owned by Sen's wife Madhuchhanda Sen, had signed an agreement with UNESCO. However, despite restrictions on using the UNESCO logo for commercial purposes, the organisation allegedly marketed and sold Durga Puja tour packages using the UNESCO tag between 2022 and 2025.
The public prosecutor also informed the court that money was transferred to the former minister's account on the same day when the money was collected and deposited in the account of “Mass Art Society”.
He also said that the statements of three witnesses recorded have said that the former minister was directly involved in the alleged irregularities.
Seeking bail, Sen's counsel argued that the former minister had no role in the sale of passes and had no connection with Mass Art Society or any other entity that has surfaced during the investigation. His counsel denied all the charges levelled against Sen.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the judge remanded Sen to 13 days of police custody. A city police official said that the main focus of the investigation is to find out who the other beneficiaries in the alleged scam are, for which further interrogation of Sen was necessary.
Police sources said Sen was questioned for several hours at Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar after his arrest. Both Kolkata Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are conducting parallel probes into the alleged UNESCO-tagged Durga Puja pass scam. Sen was arrested shortly after he emerged from the ED office in Salt Lake on Wednesday following an extensive round of questioning.