Alipurduar, Dec. 18: The intelligence department will hand over a report to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee detailing the threat perception from militants operating in north Bengal.

Bhattacharjee is scheduled to reach Siliguri on Saturday. On Sunday, he will travel to Cooch Behar where he will open the Shil Torsa bridge to traffic.

Intelligence wing sources said the report will apprise the chief minister on the current activities of the militant outfits, especially the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation.

Sources said the militants are on the backfoot on two counts: paucity of funds and non-availability of arms and ammunition to combat the security forces, which have fanned out in the areas bordering Bhutan, cutting off the rebels’ supply and communication routes.

Pointing to the recent rise in extortion cases, the sources said that KLO chief Tamir Das visited Bangladesh recently to buy arms, including AK-47s, rocket-launchers, machine guns and landmines to check the uninterrupted movement of the security forces. The suppliers apparently demanded Rs 60 lakh from the KLO chief, forcing the militants to scamper for funds.

“This is why there has been a burst in extortion attacks over the past three or four days in Mainaguri and Changrabanda. That these two places are quite far away from Kumargram proves that the militants have spread their network in the entire Dooars area. If they are successful in getting the sophisticated arms, it could lead to a deterioration of law and order in the region,” the source said.

Police and the CRPF have sealed the border areas of West Bengal-Bhutan-Assam, forcing the militants to halt their movement in Kumargram, Samuktala and Tufanganj.

To counter this, militants are planning to strike at the security forces, using landmines in the border areas. “The police heat has made the villagers scared and they dare not provide shelter to the militants. Supply of funds and arms to the camps has dried up and this has made militants like Kalia and Tom enter the Dooars,” the sources added.

The report will stress on the need for modern arms and a boost in the number of security personnel to take on the militants. It will also suggest greater coordination between the police forces of Assam and Bengal.

Sources said intelligence inputs have indicated at possible attacks on political leaders in the run-up to the panchayat elections, slated for May 2003. The militants are also believed to be trying to create panic among the villagers to prevent frontline CPM leaders from becoming candidates. For this, they have started employing informers in different parties.