Kolkata: An FIR has been registered at the Bowbazar PS against former Bengal minister Indranil Sen, his wife Madhuchhanda Sen, and several top officials of the cultural organization “MassArt” for their alleged involvement in a financial racket centered on Kolkata’s Durga Puja festivities.The case was filed based on a detailed plaint by international travel consultant and global promoter of Durga Puja, Jaydeep Mukherjee. The police have booked the accused under multiple sections of the BNS, 2023, including sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 336(2) and 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).Apart from Sen, the former tourism minister, information and cultural affairs, the FIR names his wife Madhuchhanda, who is the president of MassArt, alongside the organization’s secretary Dhruvajyoti Bose, vice president Sayantan Maitra, and treasurer Rajan Chatterjee.According to the complainant, who has been promoting Durga Puja globally since 2010 and holds international publications with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the accused actively ran an institutionalized racket to misappropriate public funds. Mukherjee alleged that following the prestigious Unesco ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ inscription in Dec 2021, the accused exploited their proximity to the erstwhile Trinamool govt to monetize the festival.The complaint states that in 2025, MassArt introduced high-priced ‘donor passes’ and ‘preview show’ tickets under the fraudulent claim of having an official partnership with Unesco since their inception. The organization allegedly claimed that these collected funds were routed back to local puja committees to support artists and artisans. However, Mukherjee pointed out that no financial records, balance sheets, or audits have ever been published to verify these claims, alleging widespread siphoning of money.Furthermore, the FIR highlights a deeper conspiracy created by the accused. The introduction of the commercial ticket model effectively converted public Durga Puja pandals into exclusive, privatized zones. Common citizens, who wait for months to catch a glimpse of the deity, were systematically denied entry and humiliated if they could not afford the expensive passes, the FIR has mentioned. This commercialization reportedly triggered severe public tension and confrontations across various neighborhood pandals, undermining the democratic and inclusive spirit of Bengal’s greatest festival.“The accused turned a free, public celebration of devotion into a restricted zone embedded in a profit-at-all-cost model,” the complainant alleged, urging police to take stringent action for cheating the public and harming religious sentiments. Police confirmed that a comprehensive financial probe into the organization’s accounts has been initiated. Ex-minister and singer Sen has distanced himself from the MassArt controversy, clarifying that he has no personal ties to the organization. “I have no connection with MassArt. My wife is a member in her individual capacity,” said Sen.Addressing the controversy surrounding the pre-Puja ticket sales, Sen said, “This event is not held during the pujas. It begins three days before Mahalaya and concludes on Prathama. The complainant is a tour operator who used to organise similar international awards related to Durga Puja. Several organizations have hosted similar ticketed programs since last year. However, MassArt only issued these VIP cards in 2023 and 2024, with proper permission from UNESCO, and did not sell any such ticket last year. The organization has obtained the necessary clearances from UNESCO and has not used its logo anywhere.”Sen firmly denied any personal involvement with the organization. “I am being dragged into this controversy simply because my wife is a member and I happened to be the tourism minister at the time,” he said, adding that his wife has “no regrets” about her association with MassArt.Bose refuted the allegations and said he had all necessary documents to not only show the involvement of UNESCO in the preview show but also that financial assistance was provided to puja committees and artists.