Surat: A Rs 5.37-crore alleged kickback racket linked to procurement orders at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) has landed five company officials and 14 others in legal trouble.Hazira police booked the accused for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and organised crime after an internal vigilance probe uncovered a commission network operating through relatives and associates over nearly six years.AM/NS vigilance adviser Shaktisinh Parmar filed the complaint with Hazira police. The investigation has now been handed over to the economic offences wing (EOW).According to the complaint, Satyanand Manmath Patra, an official in the company’s R&D department, allegedly conspired with others to collect commission and brokerage from Surat-based Rama Gum Industries Pvt Ltd in return for procurement orders. Police alleged that Patra pressured the firm to pay commissions on a per-kg basis for material supplied to AM/NS plants.The complaint states that AM/NS Surat plant’s R&D department undertakes research and development. Bentonite and similar bonding materials are used in pellet production, and AM/NS procures them from vendors for its pellet plants at Paradip and Visakhapatnam.According to the complaint, Patra and his team developed a guar gum-based bonding material and obtained a patent for it. In 2019-20, he began searching for a company capable of manufacturing the patented product and approached Rama Gum Industries Pvt Ltd.Police alleged that Patra lured the firm’s owner, Mitul Shah, and marketing manager, Mehul Mehta, with the promise of large AM/NS orders and persuaded them to create production and research facilities for the product.Initially, Patra allegedly delayed approvals of samples and purchase orders. He then allegedly demanded a commission of Rs 100 per kg and later settled for between Rs 25 and Rs 40 per kg.The complaint alleges that Patra conspired to receive the commissions using bogus brokerage bills and enlisted the help of Sahib Mohammad Sabir Mohammad (AM/NS Hazira), Hariprasad, senior GM at AM/NS Paradip, Barun Harichandan of AM/NS Bhubaneswar, Yash Hemant Patel, a former AM/NS employee, and 14 relatives and associates.Police said that between Jan 2020 and Nov 2025, Patra facilitated orders worth Rs 36.70 crore to Rama Gum Industries for the supply of 11.50 lakh kg of material to the Paradip plant and 11.20 lakh kg to the Visakhapatnam plant.The company launched an internal vigilance inquiry after receiving intelligence inputs about alleged irregularities. The probe allegedly found that company officials had conspired to collect commissions and routed money through bank accounts belonging to relatives and associates.Based on the findings, Hazira police registered an FIR on charges related to organised crime, criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
