Delhi Police chief will stay, says Chidambaram

The government has no intention of axing Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar "at this stage", Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday.

Responding to questions after a cabinet meeting, Chidambaram said it would be "inappropriate" to remove Neeraj Kumar despite the mass protests over the gang-rape of a young woman in Delhi bus.

"I think this would be totally inappropriate to do at this stage. I think the commissioner is doing his job. If there have been any lapses, we will be looking into it," he said.

The commissioner has been under attack since the 23-year-old was raped and tortured Dec 16. He was also criticized following a crackdown by Delhi Police on protesters.

Chidambaram said the commissioner has apologized for the crackdown.

"I think the first thing to be done is to bring the situation to normalcy. I think the commissioner has, I saw it on TV, apologized for any lapses that may have hurt any innocent person.

"I would request all of you to leave it here," he said.