Kolkata, November 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
UNESCO has informed the Kolkata Police that it had no agreement with “Mass Art”, an organisation linked to former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen, for the sale of Durga Puja passes carrying the UN agency’s name, the public prosecutor told a court on Saturday.
The Kolkata Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the alleged sale of fake UNESCO-tagged Durga Puja passes, had emailed the agency seeking clarification on its arrangement with Mass Art. According to the public prosecutor, UNESCO confirmed that no such agreement existed. The organisation is owned by Madhuchhanda Sen, wife of Indranil Sen.
Sen, who was arrested last month, had earlier been remanded to police custody until November 10. However, police produced him before the court on Saturday, three days before the end of his remand, and sought judicial custody.
The public prosecutor told the court that Rs 27 lakh was currently held in two of Sen’s bank accounts and Rs 10 crore had been seized from 27 frozen accounts linked to the case. Police had also seized 13 documents that required verification. The prosecutor said documents sought from the state government might take time to reach investigators due to the festival holidays and argued that the investigation was at a critical stage. He opposed granting bail to Sen.
Sen’s counsel questioned the need for judicial custody and requested that he be treated as a first-class prisoner and provided with his prescribed medicines. The prosecution opposed the request, saying a separate hearing should be held on the grounds for granting such status. After the defence cited the example of former minister Sujit Basu, the court approved first-class prisoner status for Sen and remanded him to judicial custody until November 21.
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