Bengal: SIT arrests second accused in UNESCO-tagged fake Durga Puja pass scam

Kolkata: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police on Wednesday night arrested a senior corporate official in connection with the multi-crore fake Durga Puja pass scam involving UNESCO-tagged festival tours.

The arrested individual, identified as Dhrubojyoti Basu, is a top executive of “Mass Art”, the corporate entity through which the fraudulent passes were allegedly marketed and sold. Basu was named in the initial First Information Report (FIR) and had been absconding since last week following the arrest of former West Bengal Tourism Minister Indranil Sen.

Basu’s arrest marks the second major action by law enforcement in the ongoing probe, following the detention of Sen, a singer-turned-politician.

According to police sources, while “Mass Art” was officially headed by Sen’s wife, Madhuchhanda Sen, the entity operated as the brainchild of the former minister and Basu. Investigators allege that the duo established a complex corruption network through the organisation to monetise unauthorised passes under the guise of UNESCO festival access.

Madhuchhanda Sen has also been named in the FIR. However, she secured anticipatory bail from the Calcutta High Court and remains out of custody despite undergoing two rounds of interrogation. Authorities confirmed that the couple’s daughter, Averi Sen, along with corporate entities linked to her, remain under active financial and administrative scrutiny.

Indranil Sen, currently in police custody, is undergoing daily marathon interrogations by the SIT. Investigators have questioned nine other individuals in connection with the case, including Madhuchhanda Sen.

Sen is scheduled to be produced before a lower court in Kolkata on November 10. Police officials stated that the SIT is actively gathering forensic and document-based evidence to counter potential bail applications during the upcoming court hearing.

The case is being investigated through parallel probes by the Kolkata Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). City police sleuths originally took Sen into custody outside the ED’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata last week.