UNESCO denies ties with with Kolkata-based Mass Art in fake Durga Puja pass case

UNESCO has informed Kolkata Police that it had no agreement with Mass Art, an organisation linked to former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen, for the sale of UNESCO-tagged Durga Puja passes. The clarification was submitted before a Kolkata court by the prosecution.

Kolkata:  The UNESCO had conformed the Kolkata Police of not having any agreement with the “Mass Art”, an organisation linked to former West Bengal Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Indranil Sen, for sale of UN agency-tagged Durga Puja passes, the public prosecutor told a lower court in Kolkata on Saturday.

As per the information provided by the public prosecutor to the court, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police, which is probing the case of sale of fake UNESCO-tagged Durga Puja passes, had recently sent an email to the UN agency seeking clarification on whether the latter had any agreement on this count with “Mass Art”, the entity through which such passes were sold.

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In reply, the public prosecutor told the court that the UNESCO had confirmed to the SIT that the international organisational had no such agreement with “Mass Art”, owned by Madhuchhanda Sen, the wife of former West Bengal Tourism Minister and former Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs, Indranil Sen, a singer-turned-politician.

Sen was arrested last month by the Kolkata Police in the matter, and earlier the same court remanded him to police custody till November 10.

However, on Saturday, the police presented Sen at the same court three days before the end of the tenure of his police custody, and the public prosecutor sought his judicial custody.

“The accused currently has Rs 27 lakh in two of his accounts. A total of Rs 10 crore has been seized from 27 frozen bank accounts related to the case. The police have seized 13 crucial documents related to the case. They need to be verified. The documents sought from the state government in the matter might take time to reach the investigating officers because of the ongoing festival holidays. So, we are now seeking judicial custody for the accused instead of wasting time by keeping him in police custody,” the Public Prosecutor said.

He also added that since the investigation in the matter was currently at a critical stage, bail should not be granted to the accused.

In his counterargument, Sen’s counsel said that it was not clear why the state was seeking the judicial custody of his client.

“However, my client should be given the status of a first-class prisoner in jail. Arrangements should also be made to provide him with all the medicines he consumes,” Sen’s counsel added.

The Public Prosecutor opposed that demand for granting the first-class prisoner category to Sen and said that first there should be a separate hearing on why that accused deserved that special category treatment in judicial custody.

Thereafter, Sen’s counsel said that keeping in mind their political and social status, the former West Bengal Fire Services Minister Sujit Basu had also been granted the first-class prisoner category in judicial custody.

Thereafter, the judge of the lower court approved the appeal for granting first-class prisoner category to Sen and remanded him to judicial custody till November 21.