Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur resigned on September 2 amid a row over a €70 million arms procurement deal for Ukraine. The procurement involved a firm acquired by Indian company Neco Defence Munitions in 2024. (Photo: Instagram/@hannopevkur)The Indian firm allegedly linked to an artillery shells supply deal to Estonia for onward delivery to Ukraine has no dealings with the Ministry of Defence or the Indian armed forces, senior ministry officials said on Monday.The clarification comes days after Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur resigned, taking political responsibility amid a controversy over a €70 million (approximately Rs 769 crore) ammunition procurement for Ukraine and wider criticism of financial management in the country’s defence establishment.The procurement involved Italian-registered Datasel S.R.L., which was acquired by Indian company Neco Defence Munitions in 2024. Estonia’s Centre for Defence Investments made advance payments totalling about €70 million for artillery ammunition intended for Ukraine, with the purchase financed through the European Union’s European Peace Facility, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR reported, citing an investigation by newspaper Eesti Ekspress.Defence ministry officials said that NECO Defence is part of a Nagpur-based, well-established steel manufacturing company owned by Anand Jaiswal and Siddharth Jaiswal. “They recently acquired a small Italian small arms and ammunition-making firm called Datasel, and they have a Romania-based manufacturing facility, with a contract to fill artillery shells to supply to Estonia for onward supply to Ukraine,” an official said.Also Read | Why Estonia defence minister resigned over ₹769-crore India-linked Ukraine shell dealThe official added that there have been no dealings or supply orders from Indian armed forces or the Ministry of Defence, but they may have supplied to state police as claimed on their website.Jayaswal Neco Industries, the listed Indian steelmaker, has clarified that Datasel is not its subsidiary or associate. Datasel is owned by Neco Defence Munitions, a separate promoter-owned entity, and Jayaswal Neco Industries said the Estonian procurement dispute has no financial impact on its books, according to a company clarification reported on September 4.According to the Estonian reports, neither Datasel nor Neco had previously produced artillery shells when the contracts were signed.