Overview
- A formal complaint was lodged by representatives of an international tourism group on Tuesday accusing former West Bengal minister Indranil Sen, his wife Madhuchhanda Sen and three MassArt officials of falsely using UNESCO’s name and logo to sell premium Durga Puja access.
- The complaint says an organisation called Mahanirban Road Mass Art Society (MassArt) announced 24 selected pandals and sold 'Preview Show' tickets reportedly priced around Rs. 4,000 each as part of the scheme.
- The complainant says he contacted UNESCO, which he claims denied any commercial partnership or authorisation for MassArt to use its name or logo.
- Kolkata police are examining documents submitted with the complaint and later coverage reported an FIR had been registered; no court charges or detailed police statement have been made public and the accused have not issued substantive responses.
- The case touches on wider concerns about privatising a traditionally free public festival and could trigger scrutiny of how UNESCO recognition has been referenced since Durga Puja’s 2021 inscription on the organisation’s heritage list.