Bengal's police and intelligence agencies have geared up to intensify the security net around Suvendu Adhikari following a feed from their central counterparts claiming a possible terror attack on the state's leader of the Opposition.
Adhikari can be a possible target of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Hizb ut-Tahrir, two terror outfits that the earlier Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh had banned, central agencies have said, according to a source.
Following a change of guard in Bangladesh and a spate of jailbreaks, some of the top leaders of these two outfits are active, Bangladeshi media reported in recent months.
These inputs were shared with the state police following which a message to intensify Adhikari's security was communicated, the source added.
"Since Adhikari keeps moving around districts, the information has been shared with the district intelligence branch, which police superintendents head," said a senior officer.
The input from the Centre to the Bengal government comes within a month of the Union home ministry scaling up Adhikari's security cover from Y to Z category.
This comes within days of the state police arresting Javed Munshi, a suspected terrorist, from Canning in South 24-Parganas. He was allegedly trying to sneak into Bangladesh through the Sunderbans.
Last week, the state's Special Task Force (STF) joined Assam police in rounding up two alleged members of the proscribed Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) from Murshidabad.
While senior officers refused to share specifics, sources said separate teams in every district would be shadowing the BJP leader during his visits to far and beyond for political rallies and meetings.
Adhikari's proposed routes would be "covered" and meeting venues would have officers in plainclothes scanning everyone in his proximity.
Adhikari has slammed the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and condemned the alleged persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, especially after Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das's arrest. He alleged that terrorists had taken over the Basanti Highway and the road to Gosaba from Kamalgazi in Calcutta, courtesy TMC's vote bank politics.