Former state tourism minister Indranil Sen, accused of financial irregularities centering around the Durga Puja, transferred ₹ 30 lakh to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee via banking channels as royalty, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement on Thursday.
The agency claimed that the accused individuals systematically commercialised Durga Puja viewing, effectively converting a public festival into a commercial enterprise for personal gain. The Mamata-AITC faction led by Banerjee has not only set aside the allegations but has also questioned the timing of the ED’s statement against the former chief minister. “Furthermore, the investigation has revealed that cash of more than ₹ 3.8 crore was deposited into the bank accounts of Indranil Sen and his proprietorship concern, M/s Octave Records, during his tenure. Also, from the bank account of Octave Records, a sum of nearly ₹ 30 lakh was transferred via banking channels to Mamata Banerjee, the then chief minister of West Bengal, which Indranil Sen has claimed was paid in the form of royalty,” the ED statement said. The statement comes a day after ED officials questioned Sen for around 10 hours at its office in Kolkata in connection with the alleged irregularities. On Tuesday, the agency searched 15 premises in Kolkata linked to Sen and his close associates. It said that the accused persons, operating through massArt (a non-profit organisation), sold tickets to people ranging from ₹ 1,749 to ₹ 5,499 for ‘Preview Shows’ across 24 selected Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata. “Over a two-year period (2023 and 2024), more than one lakh such tickets were issued.
the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress refuted the charges, saying the ED was acting on the orders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) While the agency didn’t explain what it meant by “royalty”. The proceeds from the ticket sales were subsequently siphoned off, either through cash withdrawals from the bank accounts or by being written off under the guise of miscellaneous expenses,” it said. “I don’t believe that Banerjee will take any money (proceeds of crime) from Sen,” Madan Mitra, a rebel AITC leader who joined the Ritabarata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress, said.
