Why was Sai Baba's coffin ordered on April 4?

Bangalore: An order placed for a VIP freezer box with a Bangalore-based firm by a "trust" has fuelled speculation about the exact date of Sathya Sai Baba's death. Shiva Ganesh, Business Development Officer of Kumar and Company International, Malleswaram, says he received an email on April 4 at 4 pm from one Reddy asking for a VIP freezer box.

The request was for immediate despatch. However, when Ganesh replied that it would take a week to despatch the freezer, Reddy insisted that the freezer be despatched within a day as a "senior member" of the trust that Reddy belonged to, was critically ill and could die anytime soon.

After receiving quotations, Reddy immediately dispatched Rs 50,000 the same day and Rs 57,000 the following day. However, the freezer was not dispatched immediately since Reddy wanted changes to make it look "grand". Reddy got the glass of the freezer changed and ordered for the borders to be neatly gold plated.

Ganesh told Express, "When I asked Reddy who he was and what trust he worked for, he was evasive... There are speculations that the box was used for Baba's body since it looks similar and has the same dimensions."

But if the box was indeed meant for Baba, why was the order placed on April 4 when the godman passed away on April 24?

The freezer dispatched was 6.5 to 7 feet tall and 2-and-a-half to 3 feet in width, similar to the dimensions of the freezer used for Baba's body. Another similarity was the glass sheets and the gold plated borders.