A kidney transplantation racket allegedly being run through the social media and which also involves Sri Lanka, was busted by the Hyderabad city police in India yesterday with the arrest of four persons including a doctor, The Hindu newspaper reported today. The police seized nine passports, computer, two laptops and six cell phones from them.
A similar kidney racket which involved Sri Lanka had been exposed by the Indian media earlier as well.
The prime accused in the latest racket, Dr. Hirdesh Saxena alias Kumar Saxena, 60, from Shiridi in Maharasthra along with K Raghavender alias Dr. Sanjay Kapoor,34, from Hayathnagar, A Ashok,22, a student from Ameerpet and Sanjay Kumar Jain, 32, a passport agent from Lal Darwaza was taken into custody by the Commissioner’s Task Force (West) team following a tip-off.
Additional Commissioner of Police (law and order), Anjani Kumar told reporters that Dr. Saxena would utilise the services of Raghavender (who himself sold his kidney sometime ago) and Ashok in finding persons willing to sell a kidney. Dr Saxena allegedly paid a commission of Indian Rs. 3 lakh to Raghavender for every person while the latter paid Indian Rs. 50,000 to Ashok, who helped him in getting clients. Sanjay Kumar would arrange passports for them.
“Dr. Saxena would collect Rs. 30 lakh from the kidney recipient while he paid Rs. 5 lakh (Indian) to those donors having a passport and Rs. 3 lakh who do not have it. The gang would take them to different hospitals in Sri Lanka and Iran to carry out the procedure,” Kumar charged.
The racket was being operated for the last one year and 10 persons including two from the city had ‘sold’ their kidneys. “The transplantation was done at Western Hospital, Navaloka Hospital and Lanka Hospital in Sri Lanka and Moheb Hospital at Tehran in Iran.
Till now, Saxena has taken five persons to Sri Lanka and the remaining to Iran on tourist visas,” DCP Task Force, B Limba Reddy said. “Our investigation has revealed that those willing to sell their kidney are poor and were lured by huge money,” Inspector, Task Force (West) A P Anand Kumar said.
