Policemen in Puri stand near a sand sculpture depicting the blast in Malkangiri. (PTI)

Bhubaneswar, July 18: The Orissa government, two days after the Malkangiri landmine blast, took stock of the situation in the red-hit district.

Seventeen policemen were killed in a landmine blast in Malkangiri on Wednesday.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who convened a review meeting after returning from New Delhi this afternoon, said the state police intelligence wing would be strengthened further. “We will strengthen all wings, including the intelligence machinery,” he said.

The government has been drawing flak from quarters for “intelligence failures” that led to frequent attacks killing 81 police personnel in the past five months.

“This time, we are determined to fight. There will be more appointment of police personnel in Naxalite-hit areas. Appropriate training will be imparted to the policemen to fight the red menace,” said the chief minister.

Naveen, however, evaded the question as to whether the recent attack had demoralised the force. “All are mourning the death of the personnel, who laid down their lives for the safety of others. Of course we will now see to it that the force’s morale gets a boost,” he said.

Director-general of police G.C. Nanda today visited Malkangiri and took stock of the situation there. The police chief conceded that there was an acute shortage of manpower in the state, especially in Malkangiri. He, however, stressed that Naxalites would be countered strongly and anti-Naxalite strategies would be redrawn.

“We will deploy more special operations group personnel trained in anti-rebel operations in Malkangiri and all precautions will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incident in future,” he said.

Nanda, however, had to face the ire of police personnel in the district, who were angry at “the ways in which the government was handling rebels and treating policemen at ground level”. “While the Andhra Pradesh government sent helicopters to carry the bodies of their personnel from Chitrakonda, our government seems least bothered. Bodies of our slain men have not reached their homes yet,” said a policeman.