A man was caught with Rs 50 lakh on him in central Calcutta on the eve of the fourth phase of the Assembly elections, in which parts of Calcutta will vote.
The man, who was identified as Ravi Shankar Gupta, 43, from BK Pal Avenue, allegedly failed to explain the source or the destination of the money, police said.
Police officers conducting checks intercepted him on Ganesh Chandra Avenue, near Chandni Chowk, on Friday afternoon. He was then handed over to Bowbazar police station.
The model code of conduct of the Election Commission of India does not set any limit to the amount of money one can carry before or during polls, but any amount more than Rs 50,000 requires documents specifying the source and the destination of the money.
If the police find someone carrying more than Rs 10 lakh, they have to inform the income tax department.
Officers in Lalbazar said Gupta could not give any explanation as to from where he had got the money and where he was going to deliver it.
He was stopped on Ganesh Chandra Avenue based on a specific tip-off and his bag was searched.
“Bundles of currency notes were found inside the bag. The findings of a preliminary investigation suggests that he (Gupta) is a trader and may have been involved in hawala operations,” said a senior police officer.
The matter has been referred to the income tax department.
The department will formally seize the cash and initiate a probe into its origin.
However, the police said, it was still not clear if the money was linked to any political party.
Various wings of Calcutta police along with the adjoining commissionerates intensify vehicle checking and often use technological and human inputs to stop illegal transportation of money and arms.
A few weeks ago, the special task force of Calcutta police had seized Rs 61 lakh from alleged drug racketeers in central Calcutta.