Yavatmal (Maharashtra), Feb 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday here said terror groups who perpetrated the Pulwama attack that left 49 CRPF troopers dead, cannot hide and "will be punished" as the security forces have been given a "free hand" to tackle the inevitable.

 Paying tributes to two Central Reserve Police Force troopers from Maharashtra and others killed in the deadly attack on Thursday, Modi said the country has "faith and pride" in our soldiers and security forces and their sacrifices will not go in vain.

"Wherever the terror groups and the perpetrators may hide, our security forces will flush them out and punish them," Modi said amidst cheers from the gathering of farmers and women here.

When and how to accomplish this has been left to the security forces, but he appealed to the people of the country to be "patient" and repose confidence in the armed forces, "as the terror perpetrators shall not be spared at any cost", he added.

In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers on the spot, the toll reached 49 on Friday as several injured succumbed.

The attack has left the security establishment stunned as it created the biggest casualty of security personnel in a single day in peace time.