Five Former TMC Ministers Arrested in West Bengal Amid Corruption Allegations
In West Bengal, five former ministers of the TMC have been arrested on corruption charges, with only one currently granted bail.
Kolkata, October 31 (Daily Kiran) : In Kolkata, five former ministers from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have been arrested under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government within the first six months of its tenure. Currently, only one of these ministers has been granted bail. The arrests are linked to alleged irregularities during the previous TMC administration led by Mamata Banerjee.
The arrests began with Sujit Bose, the former fire services minister. He was followed by three other former transport ministers: Dilip Mandal, Ujjwal Biswas, and Udayan Guha. The most recent addition to this list is Indranil Sen, who has served as the state’s former tourism minister and as the minister of information and cultural affairs. Sen was detained earlier this week in connection with an alleged fake ‘Durga Puja pass’ scam, which pertains to tours associated with the UNESCO-recognized Durga Puja festival.
Among the five former ministers, only Ujjwal Biswas is currently out on bail. Indranil Sen remains in police custody, while the other three, including Bose, are in judicial custody.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sujit Bose in a case involving millions of rupees related to a ‘jobs for cash’ scheme tied to municipal recruitments in West Bengal. Dilip Mandal, Ujjwal Biswas, and Udayan Guha were apprehended by the West Bengal Police on charges of corruption, extortion, and political violence.
Indranil Sen’s case has garnered particular attention, especially after the ED’s investigation revealed the name of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Earlier this month, the ED issued a statement linking Banerjee to a transaction involving a company called ‘Octave Records,’ which is associated with Sen. The agency claims that approximately 3 million rupees were allegedly transferred to Banerjee via banking channels from this company’s accounts. Sen has insisted that the payment was made as a royalty.
Furthermore, a judicial commission was established by the West Bengal government to investigate alleged institutional corruption during the previous TMC administration, and it has now begun looking into Sen’s case.
