Maharashtra kidney racket probe: Cops dispatched to multiple states

Chandrapur, Dec 31 (PTI) The Maharashtra Police has launched a massive nationwide operation to neutralise a "well-oiled" kidney transplant syndicate, dispatching teams to multiple states following the exposure of a racket that preyed on debt-ridden farmers.

Chandrapur's Superintendent of Police, Sudarshan Mummaka, told reporters that the investigation has moved far beyond local boundaries and analysis of mobile records and technical data has mapped a complex web of cooperation between agents, donors, and specialised medical professionals.

"Technical data confirms that this is not a localised crime," Mummaka said, adding that "it is a sophisticated, pan-India network involving professionals across several states who have turned human organ transplants into a commercial enterprise." Police teams have been sent to Delhi and Tamil Nadu, where doctors have been found involved in the transplant racket, he said.

The police are now scrutinising bank accounts and digital footprints to identify other medical facilities that may have served as "safe houses" for these illegal surgeries.

The case came to light after Roshan Kude, a farmer from Chandrapur, filed a complaint against local moneylenders alleging that he had borrowed Rs 1 lakh, but exorbitant interest rates saw his debt rise to a staggering Rs 74 lakh.

Desperate to repay the loan, Kude contacted a "Kidney Donor Community" page on social media and was eventually sent to Cambodia to sell his kidney.

"The investigation into the moneylenders led us to a fake doctor in Solapur named Krishna, who acted as an agent," Mummaka said.

"Krishna, himself a former victim of the racket, allegedly facilitated the organ removal of 10 to 12 people in Cambodia for commission." The investigation into the illegal money-lending unravelled a massive, pan-India kidney transplant racket involving high-profile doctors, international links to Cambodia, and a network of hospitals charging up to Rs 80 lakh per surgery, the police said.

As the SIT dug deeper, the "pan-India" nature of the network emerged, centred around a private hospital in the south.

Investigators found that multiple illegal transplants were allegedly conducted at a hospital in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, where the patients were charged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 80 lakh per transplant.

Police have so far arrested six moneylenders and registered a case under sections 18 and 19 of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOTA Act).

One of the accused, who acted as a donor, had admitted to surgical removal of his kidney by Dr Ravinder Pal Singh from New Delhi and a doctor from a private hospital in Trichy.

"These facts have been corroborated by the statement of an accused and technical evidence," said Mummaka.

"The investigation revealed that multiple such illegal transplants were allegedly conducted at a hospital in Tamil Nadu," he added.

It emerged during the probe that Dr Ravinder Pal Singh used to receive approximately Rs 10 lakh for treatment and hospital arrangements.

"However, the actual kidney donors were paid only Rs 5 to 8 lakh, highlighting severe exploitation," said Mummaka.

Following the inputs, the SIT and Local Crime Branch (LCB) personnel were dispatched to detain Dr Ravinder Pal Singh in Delhi and another doctor in Tamil Nadu.

"During transit remand proceedings, Dr Ravinder Pal Singh was granted interim bail by a Delhi court and has been directed to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandrapur, on January 2. Police are also making efforts to arrest another doctor during the investigation," said Mummaka.

Earlier, the SIT had arrested a fake doctor from Solapur in Maharashtra, with the investigation suggesting that he allegedly took around 10-12 people to a hospital in Cambodia for removing kidneys and got a commission from racketeers, police had said. PTI COR SKL NSK