Guwahati, March 3 :     The Army today hinted at a fresh crackdown on all those who are still contributing to the coffers of militant outfits. In a statement issued here this afternoon, the Army stated, 'The public is warned to desist from paying extortion money to the militants.' It added that defaulters would be identified and legal action taken against them under provisions of the CrPC. It said the Ulfa was planning to carry out explosions at public places in Guwahati and other towns in the near future. Asked if the Army has already identified some of the defaulters, general officer commanding (GOC), Four Corps, Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar told The Telegraph, 'We have reports that the militant outfits are slapping extortion demands.' He claimed that some tea companies were at the receiving end. He, however, skirted a query on whether the tea companies were responding to the extortion notices, saying, 'We don't know whether they are paying or not.' Reiterating its charge that leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) were 'living in five-star luxury in foreign countries,' the Army claimed that the leadership living abroad had 'directed their minions to collect money. An amount of Rs 15 crore is required to be collected by March 15. It is an established fact that this money will be utilised by these leaders for their personal comfort and entertainment.' In 1997, after the unified command - a joint formation of the Army, the police and paramilitary forces - came into existence, it was decided to choke off the funds flow. Anti-insurgency operations in the subsequent period were quite successful in this regard. Shekatkar said extortion has become a 'cottage industry' in the state, with even petty criminals masquerading as insurgents and extorting huge amounts of money. This was corroborated by the police. A senior police official based in the city said they had recently come across a number of extortion notices served on Ulfa letterheads to affluent people in the city. 'We are more than sure that most of these letters had been issued not by the rebel outfit, but by petty criminals,' he said. He explained that the language used in the letters was a giveaway. He, however, said the militant outfit was still collecting huge amounts of money from the city. 'Some businessmen are now acting as agents of the Ulfa,' he alleged. The Army release also condemned the killing of public works department (PWD) and forests minister Nagen Sarma and said Drishti Rajkhowa, leader of the Ulfa's 'volcano unit,' was responsible for the attack. Appealing to the people 'not to be mute spectators to the atrocities committed by the rebels,' the release said any unidentified object must be reported to the nearest security post. Contraband haul: Smuggled goods worth Rs 3.29 lakh were recovered from two coaches of the North Bengal Express during a raid recently. A Customs official was injured when a group of smugglers attacked the raiding party.