Chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the Shaheed Pillar in Malkangiri on Sunday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 20: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today met the kin of the slain policemen in Malkangiri and promised them land and job.

“The Orissa government will provide the victims’ families land and one person from each family will get government jobs,” Naveen said.

Director-general of police (south-western range) Sanjeeb Panda and Malkangiri superintendent of police Satish K. Gajbhiye received the chief minister on his arrival. After paying tributes to the memorial — Shaheed Pillar — on the premises of the office of the Malkangiri superintendent of police, Naveen met the families of the slain policemen at the district headquarters.

The chief minister assured the bereaved families all possible support from his government. He also held discussions with the security personnel gathered there and took serious note of their problems.

“I condemn this gruesome guerrilla act. It was an unfortunate incident. I assure you all the demands of the policemen would be fulfilled at the earliest. We also need to remain vigilant and improve our intelligence system to avoid such type of crises in future,” Naveen said.

Naxalites had triggered a landmine blast near MV126 (government refugee) village when an anti-landmine vehicle carrying special operation group personnel was returning from a combing operation last Wednesday.

The blast was so powerful that it tossed the vehicle 200ft off the ground and killed 17 policemen on the spot. It also damaged the road and a culvert.

Director-general of police Gopal Chandra Nanda has been assigned to probe into the incident and submit a report in a month.