The Ministry of Defence has ordered a probe into the lost and found case of a secret file related to the purchase of 126 combat jets for the Indian Air Force. Talking to newsman in New Delhi, the Defence Ministry spokesperson said that the Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony has taken a very serious view of the case. The Minister said, as far as the procurement deal is concerned, every officer has to be careful at every stage. The secret file, containing information on the offset clause that is built into the MMRCA deal, was found lying outside a residential area in South Delhi. The IAF has ordered a Court of Inquiry into the incident that occurred in mid-December. The sources, however, claimed that the file did not have any crucial information but the fact that it was marked secret and not handled according to the government procedures regarding such documents was a serious breach of conduct. The file had been sent by the IAF to the Ministry of Defence for perusal. The incident took place at a time when the crucial aspects of the offsets were being discussed. AIR correspondent reports that all the top combat jet manufacturers of the world are locked in a fierce competition to win the 11 billion US dollars IAF contract ranked among one of the biggest global defence tenders of the recent times. The IAF had recently concluded field trials for all the aircraft in the fray that included Mig-35 of Russia, F-16 and F-18 of the US, Swedish Gripen, Rafale of France and European Eurofighter. The trial report is lying with the Ministry of Defence which has to open the commercial bids.