Special committee formed to investigate illegal kidney transplant racket in Tamil Nadu
Chennai: To investigate a nationwide illegal kidney transplant racket that targeted debt-ridden farmers, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services has formed a special committee.
The inquiry team was set up on Tuesday after officials found the involvement of high-profile doctors, international links to Cambodia, and a network of hospitals charging up to Rs 80 lakh per surgery.
Medical Dialogues reported that the investigation into an illegal kidney transplant racket targeting debt-ridden farmers revealed a nationwide operation involving agents, donors, and specialised medical professionals.
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Investigators found that multiple illegal kidney transplants were allegedly conducted at a hospital in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, with patients reportedly charged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 80 lakh per transplant.
Chandrapur Superintendent of Police, Sudarshan Mummaka, told reporters that the investigation had moved far beyond local boundaries, and the analysis of mobile records and technical data had mapped a complex web of cooperation between agents, donors, and specialised medical professionals.
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 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.
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).
Following this, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services constituted a committee, headed by the Additional Director of the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services. The committee will soon submit its report to the government, and action will be taken based on the findings.
According to TNIE sources, the state officials will investigate whether Tamil Nadu doctors are linked to the case. They will also inquire whether such fraudsters are targeting farmers.
