Responsibility for Dantewada will be fixed: Chidambaram

Admitting that the Dantewada massacre was a failure of command and control, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said responsibility for the lapse will be fixed right up to his level. Enemy within

Admitting that the Dantewada massacre was a failure of command and control, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said responsibility for the lapse will be fixed right up to his level.

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He also ruled out use of Army and Air Force in the naxal affected areas but said government was examining whether a special force could be used to supplement the para military forces.

The use of aircraft could be considered for surveillance, logistics and evacuation. "There is no proposal to use Army or Air Force against naxals," he said.

Replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Dantewada incident in which 76 security personnel were killed early this month, Chidambaram said "surely action will be taken based on the report" (of the one-man committee going into what went wrong that led to the massacre).

He said the preliminary inquiry showed the incident was a result of "terrible failure of command and control" and added that he has asked the Ram Mohan panel to "fix responsibility" right from the Assistant Commandant up to the Union Home Minister.

The report is expected to come by April 25, he said.