Was the casket ordered in March?

The glass casket, in which Sathya Sai Baba's mortal remains rested for the last three days, was allegedly ordered on March 28, the day he was admitted to the super-specialty hospital here.

The glass casket, in which Sathya Sai Baba's mortal remains rested for the last three days, was allegedly ordered on March 28, the day he was admitted to the super-specialty hospital here. While watching the live telecast of Sai Baba’s samadhi, a Bangalore-based coffin-maker identified Sai Baba’s casket as the 'air-conditioned coffin' supplied by him.

HT Image

Kumar, the proprietor of Kumar and Company International, said, “I identified the glass coffin — a freezer unit with brass plating around the clear glass casket — as the one supplied by my company.”

After a TV news channel flashed Kumar’s claim, several Sai Baba devotees demanded a thorough probe into the circumstances leading to his death. Kumar, who did not want to divulge his first name, claimed that an order for the coffin was placed by someone named Rajendra Reddy.

He told HT on the phone that he had supplied the casket for Rs1.07 lakh to an unknown person on April 5. “It was picked up by an unknown person,” he said.

The firm specialises in various services required for the dead, including the supply of ac coffins. Trust officials refrained from accepting or responding to any kind of communication on the matter.