The Enforcement Directorate has seized a mobile phone that investigators link to Indranil Sen, the former West Bengal minister arrested in connection with an alleged multi-crore corruption scheme involving the sale of Durga Puja passes under the UNESCO name, according to ABP Ananda. The handset is registered in the name of a relative of the former minister, the outlet reported, while the SIM card used in it was in Sen's own name.
ABP Ananda, citing police, reported that the phone was used for significant financial dealings and that Sen conducted conversations about those transactions through it. Investigators are now examining the device for records of those dealings.
The development follows Sen's arrest and a police search at his Kasba residence in Kolkata. ABP Ananda reported that officers took the former legislator with them to the house late the previous night to gather information as part of the search.
Why it matters
The case centres on allegations that passes for Durga Puja, the region's biggest annual festival, were sold on a large scale using the name of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural body, with losses said to run into crores of rupees. Sen is a former minister and former MLA, and his arrest has drawn reactions from political figures in the state.
The seizure of a phone registered to a relative but carrying his own SIM card matters because investigators believe it holds evidence of money movements. If the device yields usable records, it could help establish who else was in contact with Sen over the alleged transactions — a question ABP Ananda framed directly in its reporting on the seizure.
Police move to add MPO Act sections
Separately, ABP Ananda reported that police have applied to add sections 2 and 9 of the MPO Act to the case against Sen. The outlet did not detail the specific provisions in its summary of the filing, and it reported that police have set out their claims in support of the application.
The request signals that investigators intend to pursue a wider set of allegations than those already on record. Adding sections to a case typically requires the court's approval, and the grounds cited by police will now be weighed in that process.
Political reaction and a frozen trail
Jayati, whose remarks were carried by Anandabazar Patrika, said she had known Sen only as an artist and that the arrest had left her feeling distressed. "I knew him as an artist, so of course it feels bad," she was quoted as saying — a reaction that reflects how Sen, beyond his political career, is publicly associated with cultural circles in the state.
In a related line of reporting, Ei Samay said 27 bank accounts have been frozen in connection with the puja pass corruption allegations. The figure points to the scale of the financial inquiry, which now runs alongside the criminal case against Sen.
The broader political context has also produced headlines. News18 Bengali reported remarks by Suchetan Bhattacharya in which he acknowledged a certain "pressure" connected to being the chief minister's child and spoke about conditions on the streets. That report is separate from the Sen case and does not bear directly on the allegations against him, but it has added to the wider political chatter around the investigation in West Bengal.
What investigators are looking at
The central allegation, as reported by ABP Ananda, is that passes for Durga Puja were sold in the name of UNESCO, generating proceeds running into crores. The phone now in the ED's hands is being examined for conversations about financial transactions, which investigators say were conducted through it.
Two threads now run in parallel: the police case in Kolkata, where prosecutors want the MPO Act provisions added, and the Enforcement Directorate's financial inquiry, which has already led to the seizure of the handset and, per Ei Samay, the freezing of 27 bank accounts.
Sen has been arrested and questioned, and police have searched his home. The reporting available so far does not include his response to the allegations, and no finding of guilt has been recorded.
What to watch next: whether the court allows sections 2 and 9 of the MPO Act to be added, and what the seized phone yields — particularly any evidence identifying the people on the other end of the transactions investigators say passed through it.
