Behind a cloud

The mid-air security scare last week, when an unidentified craft was detected by radars flying close to the PM8217;s special aircraft, has left the Indian Air Force feeling the heat. Initially, the IAF made a clumsy attempt at concealing the fact that the unidentified blip on the radar was indeed its own Dornier aircraft. Even Air Chief F H Major, to whom NSA M K Narayanan spoke directly, maintained that it was an equipment malfunction. Though security agencies had figured out the truth on the day of the incident itself, the IAF continued to toe a different line and it was not until the official DGCA report came in that the facts could no longer be concealed. Clearly, with a joint inquiry now under way, the IAF is up against the wall.