Bangladesh-India Kidney Transplant Racket: Indraprastha Apollo Surgeon held for running racket at Yatharth Hospital

New Delhi: Busting an international kidney transplant racket spanning Bangladesh and India, the Delhi Crime Branch Police recently arrested a female doctor from Delhi-based Indraprastha Apollo Hospital for allegedly performing around 15-16 transplants for nearly two years at a private hospital in Noida and charged Rs 2-3 lakh for each transplant. 

According to The Indian Express news report, the doctor has been identified as Dr Vijaya Kumari, a kidney transplant surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital. She has been accused of being connected to the gang that reportedly ran its illegal activities since 2019 and allegedly performed the transplants between 2021 and 2023 at Noida’s Yatharth Hospital, where she was employed as a visiting consultant.

It was reported that the doctor was recognized as the sole medical professional working with the gang. Along with her, five other suspects from Bangladesh were arrested by the police last month. 

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Taking note of the fact that she was allegedly involved with a racket, the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital suspended the doctor. An investigation is underway to identify persons involved in this connection. 

As per The Indian Express news report, the crime took place when three accused (Two from Bangladesh and another Tripura-based) lured potential donors from Bangladesh to undergo organ transplants at renowned hospitals in New Delhi. The donors allegedly donated their kidneys for Rs 4-5 lakh, while the recipients were charged Rs 25-30 lakh. According to the daily sources, a medical tourism company called Al Shifa coordinated the donation, treatment, and testing of donors and recipients.

According to the police, patients from Bangladesh were brought to India by a network of middlemen, including Dr Kumari, using forged documents purportedly from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. These documents were allegedly created to falsely establish a relationship between donors and recipients, as required by Indian law for legal organ transplants.

“We received information after a kidney racket was busted in Rajasthan and police started working around three months ago. All the accused are first-timers, and they are giving Rs 2-3 lakh to the doctor for every transplant,” the source said.

According to the police, one of the accused names Rasel had rented a residence in Jasola Village where five to six donors had completed all necessary tests before the transplant. The recipients were scheduled to meet the donors at the same flat. 

Three people were caught red-handed inside the flat. During interrogation, Rasel introduced the other two accused as his associates. The duo were identified as Dhaka-based Miyan and Mohammad Rokon. Later, the police arrested the trio and seized their fraudulent personal belongings. 

During the arrests, a bag in Rasel's room contained nine passports, two diaries, and a register linked to kidney donors and recipients. The diary allegedly detailed financial transactions between donors and recipients. Police also confiscated a bag from Mohd Rokon containing 20 stamps and two stamp ink pads used for creating counterfeit documents.

After busting the racket, the police seized all the forged documents and medical records of the victims from Yatharth Hospital. In addition, the police have also recorded statements of the victims under Section 164 CrPC for evidence in the case. 

"These documents show it was misused to complete the medical file linked to the transplantation record of the victim,” the source said.

Doctor's Professional Background

Dr Kumari, a senior consultant and a kidney transplant surgeon joined Apollo Hospital as a junior doctor almost 15 years ago. She was engaged on a fee-for-service basis and not on the hospital’s payroll. Her assistant, Vikram has also been arrested in this connection. 

Additional Medical Superintendent of Yatharth Hospital, Sunil Baliyan told The Indian Express, "She was working with the hospital as a visiting consultant and performed transplants on patients brought by her. No patient of Yatharth was given to her and she had performed one surgery in the last three months."

Hospital’s Response

A spokesperson of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said, “Given this action by the police, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (IAH) placed the doctor under suspension. IAH was previously approached by the Crime Branch seeking certain information as part of an investigation, which was duly provided. This action is after an investigation pertaining to procedures carried out at another hospital and prima facie not related to any action or acts at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.”

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