Photo: Collected
Police from Kolkata’s Bowbazar police station arrested singer and former minister Indranil Sen moments after he came out of the ED (Enforcement Directorate) office at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake, Kolkata, following lengthy questioning. He was picked up on Wednesday afternoon (28 October) in a case over the embezzlement of crores of rupees in the name of selling Durga Puja passes.
After his arrest, he was taken to Lalbazar, the police headquarters. Police claimed he had not been cooperating with the investigation despite repeated notices.
According to a report by Ei Samay, ‘Mass Art’, the organisation run by Indranil Sen and his wife Madhuchhanda Sen, is accused of selling Durga Puja passes using UNESCO’s name. In the investigation of the case filed with Bowbazar police station, police and the ED said the organisation carried out transactions worth about Rs 30 crore by selling Durgotsav passes between 2022 and 2025. A large part of this was deposited in the bank accounts of Indranil and his family.
In 2023-24 alone, more than 1 lakh passes were sold in various categories including Platinum and Gold, priced at up to Rs 5,499. Commissions were paid to clubs from that money. He also faces allegations that, while he was a minister, he secured government tenders worth Rs 85 crore for close associates and moved that money into relatives’ accounts.
Lalbazar sources said detectives had been keeping Indranil under watch for the past week. But by repeatedly changing his location, he kept slipping out of reach. On receiving information that he was coming to the CGO Complex on Wednesday to face the ED, plain-clothes police and a team from Bidhannagar North police station reached there by noon.
As soon as he came out at around 5:45pm, he was put straight into a police vehicle and taken to Lalbazar. He will be produced in court today, Thursday (29 October).
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari commented that this is only the beginning of the fight against institutional corruption; all the real culprits will have to go to jail.
After the former minister’s arrest, complainant Joydeep Mukherjee said that day, ‘Today is a day of joy. Transactions of 30 crore are nothing; this is only the tip of the iceberg.’
Source: Ei Samay
Background
According to an ETV Bharat report of 9 June 2026, Joydeep Mukherjee and Saguna Mukherjee, on behalf of the Meghdoot Foundation, filed a complaint with Bowbazar police station alleging that Indranil Sen and Madhuchhanda Sen sold illegal VIP tickets for Durga Puja using UNESCO’s name and logo.
In a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED carried out searches at 15 locations in Kolkata and Singur, including Indranil Sen’s residence and his farmhouse in Singur, The Week reported on 29 September 2026.
According to a Bar and Bench report of 19 October 2026, the Calcutta High Court rejected Indranil Sen’s anticipatory bail plea in the case.
By the numbers
The allegation cited in The Week’s report of 29 September 2026 said money was collected from about 200 people by selling tickets for preview shows of 24 puja pandals at up to Rs 4,000 per person.
At a glance
According to The Week, Durga Puja was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021.
Sources
Background sources: ETV Bharat, 9 June 2026; The Week, 29 September 2026; Bar and Bench, 19 October 2026
