Condemning the May 25 Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh that claimed the lives of 28 people, including three prominent Congress leaders, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday said any acts of terror and violence will be dealt with firmly by the government.
Addressing the chief ministers conference on internal security here, Shinde said: "The acts of violence with innocents will be dealt with firmly."
"The Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh was an attack on democracy, freedom of people to participate in political activities. "In order to deal with the perpetrators of the crime, the case has been handed over to the NIA (National Investigation Agency) in consultation with the state government," he said.
On Jammu and Kashmir, Shinde further said that the security within Jammu and Kashmir has largely improved.
"Militancy situation in Jammu and Kashmir has shown considerable improvement. The number of infiltration attempts have greatly refused," he said.
"Development cannot happen without security. I agree that we have a long way to go to fight terror and forces of destabilization. We have formed 24X7 intelligence teams who have helped us bust major terror plans," Shinde said.
"It has been noticed that terror groups have taken advantage of more sophisticated ways - from mobile phones and emails. We continue to support the state governments to tackle terrorism, with your cooperation we will give a firm reply to terror," he said.
