A man was caught with Rs 13 lakh at a busy crossing in central Calcutta on Monday evening.

Police said he could not provide any information on the source or destination of the money.

Nemai Bera, a resident of Haridevpur, was intercepted at the Sashi Bhushan Dey Street and BB Ganguli Street crossing by a police team that was conducting pre-election checking in the area, the police said.

The area falls under the Chowringhee Assembly constituency that will vote in the final phase of the polls on April 29. Bera, along with the cash, was handed over to Muchipara police station from where the matter was conveyed to the income tax department.

According to the Election Commission of India guidelines, although there is no upper limit in carrying cash or gold jewellery when the model code of conduct is on, any amount above Rs 50,000 has to be justified with documents stating the source and destination.

Cash and gold changes hands before elections that are often ferried from one point to another through carriers who are either clueless about the origin of the money or have no ownership on the money.

Several incidents where unaccounted cash is being caught while being transported through the city are being reported.

Last week, a hawala operator was caught carrying cash Rs 50 lakh on Ganesh Chandra Avenue on the eve of the fourth phase of Assembly elections, in which parts of the city had voted.

“In majority of the cases, the political affiliation never comes out as the person carrying the cash is never attached or aware of the origin of the money. The cash is handed over to the income tax department, which starts a probe that takes a year or so to wrap up,” said an officer of Calcutta police.

According to the rule, if someone comes forward to claim the money, proportionate tax has to be deposited to regularise the money and claim it back.