Former Minister of State for Tourism and Information and Culture, Indranil Sen and his wife, Madhuchanda Sen, moved to Calcutta High Court on Friday for anticipatory bail in connection with a case linked to alleged irregularities in Durga Puja ticket sales.
Sen’s counsel mentioned the matter before Justice Joy Sengupta, who permitted the matter to be filed. The matter is likely to be heard on June 17 th.
The FIR was filed against the couple and several top officials of the cultural organization “MassArt” over allegations of selling high-priced ‘donor passes’ and ‘preview show’ during Durga Puja. The tickets were sold under the fraudulent claim of an official partnership with UNESCO since their inception.
The case, filed by Jaydeep Mukherjee, an international travel consultant and global promoter of Durga Puja, along with Saguna Mukherjee claim that there was a plan to sell VIP tickets at high prices in the name of a special preview show or advance mandap darshan before Durga Puja.
The police have booked the accused under multiple sections of the BNS, 2023, including sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 336(2) and 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).
The complainants further alleged that these collected funds were routed back to local puja committees to support artists and artisans. However, Mukherjee pointed out that no financial records, balance sheets, or audits have ever been published to verify these claims, alleging widespread siphoning of money.
The complainant further alleged that the introduction of the commercial ticket model had converted public Durga Puja pandals into exclusive, privatized zones. Common citizens, who wait for months to catch a glimpse of the deity, were systematically denied entry and humiliated if they could not afford the expensive passes.
Recently, in Janata Durbar held by Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari, singer Riddhi Banerjee claimed that Indranil Sen used to run a syndicate in the music industry wherein only the artists willing to pay a commission were given work.