Case filed against four in 'Coffingate': Minister

New Delhi, July 27 (UNI) A regular case has been registered by the CBI in the 'Coffingate' case involving alleged kickbacks in the purchase of caskets and body bags during the 1999 Kargil War.

The case has been registered against the then Military Attache in Washington Major General (Retd) Arun Roye, Director, Master General of Ordnance (MGO) Branch - Army HQ Colonel S K Malik, Joint Director MGO, Branch - AHQ F B Singh and Victor Baiza (Jr) of M/S Buitron&Baiza Caskets and Funeral Supplies (Texas, USA), Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

A case of cheating and criminal misconduct in purchase of sub-standard aluminium caskets and body bags for the Indian Army has been made in this regard.

However, the minister added that no time-frame had been fixed to complete investigations into the matter.

'Coffingate' involved purchase of 5000 aluminium caskets and 3,000 body bags during the 1999 Kargil War.

UNI AN RP HS1448