India remains "vulnerable", new terror groups raising heads

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Underlining that India remains"vulnerable" to terrorism, Home Minister P Chidambaram todaysaid new groups are suspected to be behind some terror attacksthat took place in recent years.

"I must caution you that there is no let up in theattempts to infiltrate into India from across the India-Pakistan border. Besides, there are a number of modulesoperating within the country and new groups have raised theirheads that are suspected to be behind some terrorist attacksthat took place in recent years," he said in his address atthe ''Meeting of Chief Minister on Internal Security'' here.

The Minister said, "We cannot shy away from namingthese groups or exposing their designs. Whatever theirreligious affiliations, I have no hesitation in condemningevery group that resorts to terror as a means of advancingdubious religious causes or fundamentalist goals.

"Our policy in this regard is clear -- every terroristand every terrorist group will be pursued and brought beforethe law and punished," he said.

Chidambaram, however, did not name any of the groupsthat were suspected to be behind some of the terroristsattacks in the last few years.

He said, "The evidence that the NIA and CBI arediscovering every day should serve as a wake-up call to thenew sources of terror that threaten our security."

Referring to Naxalism, the Home Minister said,"Looking back at 2010, my assessment is that there is a kindof a stalemate. The state governments concerned cannot claimany major advance, nor should we conclude that the CPI(Maoist) has gained the upper hand. There have been casualtieson both sides."

Security forces had received some serious setbackslast year including the loss of 75 CRPF personnel in onesingle ambush undertaken by the Naxals in Dantewada districtof Chhattisgarh.

The Minister said the CPI (Maoist) remains a powerfuland determined adversary and has added at least four companiesto the People''s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armedwing of the Naxals.

Taking an apparent dig at civil society activists,Chidambaram said in 2010, left-wing extremists killed 718civilians of which 323 were killed after branding them as''police informers''.

"Unlike our security forces, the Naxalite cadres arenot constrained by the rule of law or rules of conflict. Inareas they dominate they act as judge, jury and executioner.

"I regret that no representative of civil society hascalled for an inquiry into the brutal and unlawful killing ofcivilians and other acts of depredation committed by the CPI(Maoist)," he said..