Man linked to Delhi's kidney racket arrested from Kolkata

NEW DELHI: A 37-year-old man was arrested from Kolkata for his alleged involvement in a kidney racket that was busted here last week, police said.

The Crime Branch also carried out searches at Batra Hospital and seized some documents in connection with the racket, a senior police officer said.

Arun Das, who was arrested this evening in Kolkata, used to refer patients to his contacts in Delhi who would then arrange donors for the recipients, said the officer.

Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner of police (Crime), confirmed Das' arrest in Kolkata today.

Das is a close aide of Jayant Sahoo, who was arrested along with Sulekha Panda, Anoj Patra and Birju Paswan, last week for indulging in the illegal sale and purchase of kidneys.

The accused had referred a Hyderabad-based family, that was looking for a donor to Sahoo in Delhi. Das had a contact in Hyderabad who had put the family in touch with him.

Das had also spoken to an MBA student from Rajasthan, who had posed as a donor to unearth the racket, last year. He had then put the student in touch with Sagoo.

The Crime Branch teams are also looking for some accused in Bhubhaneswar, Hyderabad, West Bengal, who refer patients to their Delhi contacts, the officer said, adding teams were carrying out searches there.

The racket was busted after the MBA student, along with a TV news channel reporter, contacted the Crime Branch officials in April. He had posed as a donor to dig deep into the racket and through spy devices provided to him by the Crime Branch recorded the entire process from his meetings with the middlemen, to his screening process at the hospital.

The man underwent a screening test in front of a medical team at Batra Hospital that had cleared his interview despite him giving some wrong answers.

However, the hospital denied any wrongdoing and assured cooperation in the probe.

The middlemen gave the complainant a separate identity with fake ID cards, so that he could pass off as a member of the family of the recipient.

The middlemen targeted helpless families, who were looking for kidney donors.

They were induced and charged huge amount of money with the promise to complete necessary documentation and formalities for the smooth transplant operation.

Read also: New Delhi: Kidney Racket Busted, Batra Hospital under lens