New Delhi, April 10: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday accepted “full responsibility” for the Dantewada massacre of a CRPF contingent by Naxalites and said the “buck stops at my desk”.
“I have been asked directly or indirectly where the buck stops after the attack. The buck stops at my desk,” he said at a CRPF function in New Delhi.
Chidambaram said after his return here from Dantewada in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, a day after the massacre of 75 CRPF men and a state policeman in the Naxal strike, he had given it in writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that “I accept full responsibility”.
He did not go any further, saying, “Let me not elaborate.”
Remembering the martyrs, Chidambaram said that the nation won’t forget their bravery.
“We honour the CRPF’s valour. CRPF is more than just a reserve force. I am proud of the innumerable duties the CRPF is called upon to perform. I salute all those who laid down their lives and my heart goes out to their families,” Chidambaram said.
Lauding the sacrifices of the paramilitary force, he added that the government was trying to ensure that personnel from it were well-paid, well-housed and well-equipped.
He also said his Ministry will ensure that the families of slain jawans received compensation by the end of this month and one member from each of them got a job.
Noting that the government will always stand by the security forces, the Home Minister said they performed duties so that people could live in freedom, liberty and democracy.
Govt appoints former BSF DG to probe Dantewada attack
Government appointed former BSF Director General E N Rammohan to inquire into the circumstances leading to the ambush by Naxalites in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh in which 75 CRPF men were killed.
Rammohan has been asked to submit a report within 15 days to establish the circumstances preceding and the sequence of events leading to the incident on Tuesday.
The announcement came after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram disclosed that an inquiry would be launched what had happened in Dantewada where he said “something went wrong”.
“We have taken a decision to institute an inquiry into what went wrong,” Chidambaram told reporters here.
The Home Ministry order said 69-year-old Rammohan, a 1965-batch IPS officer, will reconstruct as far as possible the actual events that took place on that day from 0500 hours to 1200 hours and until the first rescue party reached the spot.
He will also examine the call detail records of the mobile telephones used by the deceased and injured personnel of CRPF during the encounter and gather evidence from family members and others that could throw light on the actual events that took place during the ambush.
He will analyse and establish the decision or command structure or hierarchy and the specific levels which took relevant decisions concerning the operation.
The inquiry officer will also examine the quality of the training imparted to the relevant companies of CRPF and the details of standard operating procedures.
He will examine the response of the state police and the CRPF both during the ambush and the post-ambush relief and rescue operations besides suggesting measures to mitigate the lapses, if any, so that such incidents do not recur.
—Agencies