Saturday, July 30 2005 20:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Manipal: Following Thursday's (July 28, 2005) landmine explosion at Kabbinale in Udupi district, triggered by suspected naxalites, State Additional DGP Subhash Bharani has announced the setting up of a Bomb Defusing Squad and a Self Defence Squad to curb naxal activities in the district.

"We will redraw our strategies relating to combing operations", Bharani told reporters yesterday (July 29, 2005) after visiting the site where eight police personnel, engaged in combing operations, were injured when a landmine exploded on July 28, 2005.

The staff and officers would be imparted with additional training to combat such activities, he added.

He said the anti-Naxal combing operation was now in its conclusive stage.

Confirming that the explosion had been triggered by a landmine and not by RDX as speculated, he said efforts would be made to boost the confidence of those residing in the area.

According Udupi Superintendent of Police, S Murugan, who accompanied Bharani along with IGP Western Range, Suresh Babu, said that the naxals had planted five landmine explosives at Kabbinale on July 28, 2005, out of which four exploded. Experts were able to recover the one unexploded landmine and defuse it, he said.

The team of policemen who were conducting combing operations when the explosion took place, also had to face grenades hurled at them by the suspected naxalites, he said adding that the police team fired in retaliation, but the suspects managed to flee from the scene.

Bharani later visited the KMC Hospital here where the injured policemen were admitted.