Former Bengal minister Indranil Sen booked under WBMPO Act after seven sections of BNS
Kolkata, Nov 3 (IANS) Former West Bengal Tourism Minister and former Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs, Indranil Sen, who had been accused and arrested by the Kolkata police for his alleged involvement in a fake Durga Puja pass case linked to UNESCO-tagged festival tours, had also been booked on Tuesday under a particular section of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (WBMPO) Act, 1972, besides seven sections under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Sources from the Kolkata police aware of the development, said that Sen, a singer-turned-politician, had been booked under Section 9 of the WBMPO Act, 1972, which relates to penalty for subversive acts, where a person committing any subversive act can be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both.
Legal analysts say that the development would bring further trouble for the former Minister considering that he had already been booked under seven sections of the BNS, 2023, Section 316 (criminal breach of trust), Sections 336(2) and 336(3) (forgery and forgery for cheating), Section 338 (forgery of valuable security and other specified documents), Section 318 (cheating), Section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and Section 340(2) (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine).
According to preliminary findings, financial irregularities involving several crores of rupees allegedly took place between 2022 and 2025 in the name of UNESCO and Durga Puja celebrations through Mass Art Society, a corporate entity owned by Sen’s wife Madhuchhanda Sen.
Investigators have also found indications that the former Minister allegedly withdrew substantial sums from various organisations in the name of UNESCO by using his influence, the sources added.
The investigating officers of the city police are currently examining other angles in this massive financial forgery, including the floating and use of shell companies to divert funds.
Sen is currently in police custody, and he will be presented at a lower court in Kolkata again on November 10.
The Kolkata Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been conducting parallel investigations into the alleged scam involving passes for UNESCO-tagged Durga Puja tours.
The Kolkata police arrested Sen after he emerged from the ED’s Salt Lake office on the northern outskirts of Kolkata last week.
–IANS
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