Kolkata, Oct 2 — A judicial inquiry commission, set up by the West Bengal government to investigate alleged institutional corruption during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime, has started an investigation against former West Bengal Minister Indranil Sen over alleged multi-crore irregularities in the tendering process of the Information & Cultural Affairs Department.
During the previous Trinamool Congress regime, Sen had served as a cabinet minister with two portfolios, first as the Minister of State for the Information & Cultural Affairs Department and second as the state Tourism Minister.
The judicial panel is probing alleged irregularities in contracts awarded for the "Moder Gorob Bangla" (Bengal, Our Pride) project, launched during his tenure in the department.
Confirming the development, a member of the judicial probe panel told IANS that the investigation had started based on specific allegations. “Right now, I am unable to divulge further information for the sake of the investigation,” the probe panel member said.
The project “Moder Gorob Bangla” was launched by the West Bengal Information & Cultural Affairs department to promote Bengal's folk culture, handicrafts, history and tourism potential and also provide opportunities to local artists in every district of the state. Fairs were organised in each district. As part of the project, fairs, exhibitions and handicraft stalls were organised in different parts of the state.
The judicial panel received a complaint that in 2022 and 2023, all the tenders for this fair and exhibition were given to a few special organisations close to Indranil Sen
It was alleged that Sen used his influence to arrange for tenders worth crores of rupees for select entities of his choice and confidence, some of them being Sen’s relatives.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is already conducting a probe into two corporate entities linked to Sen and his wife Madhuchhanda Sen. One such entity is “Mass Art”, which is accused of issuing passes for “Durga Puja Preview Shows” by using the name and logo of the UNESCO without the latter’s authorization.
The second entity, Octave Records, is a proprietorship firm owned by Sen. In connection with the probe, the ED has also named former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.