Former Bengal minister Indranil Sen appears before ED for second round of questioning

West Bengal's former minister Indranil Sen appeared before the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday for a second round of questioning in a money laundering probe into alleged financial irregularities in Durga Puja preview shows and the sale of passes, an official said.

Sen brought several documents, including bank statements covering the past 10 years, when he reached the ED office, the official said.

"Our officials are examining the documents to establish the flow of funds and determine whether the transactions were consistent with the income and expenditure declared by him," the officer said.

The ED had questioned Sen for several hours on September 30 and subsequently asked him to appear again with records relating to his bank accounts, income, expenditure and financial transactions from 2016 onwards.

The probe agency had earlier said its investigation into the Durga Puja preview shows case found that a company linked to Sen transferred Rs 30 lakh through banking channels to former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Sen had described the payment as "royalty", according to the ED.

The agency, in its press release, did not attribute any criminality to the transaction.

The case stems from a complaint filed with the Kolkata Police in June against Sen, his wife and other office-bearers of the Mahanirban Road Mass Art Society (massArt) over alleged irregularities in the sale of Durga Puja preview passes.

The organisation, headed by Sen's wife, has been conducting preview shows for visitors.

According to the allegations being investigated, massArt collected substantial amounts through preview programmes and passes over nearly three years from 2022. The ED is examining whether any part of the funds was diverted for personal benefit, officials said.

The agency is also looking into the organisation's ownership and management, the flow of funds and its possible links with influential persons.

The ED official said there were also allegations of irregularities in the award of contracts, with several crores of rupees allegedly routed to entities linked to Sen and his associates.

As part of the investigation, the agency conducted searches at around 15 locations, including premises linked to Sen and his office.

The ED has also alleged that more than Rs 3.8 crore in cash was deposited into the bank account of Sen's company, Octave Records.

Sen has previously denied the allegations against him.