Kerala organ trafficking case: ED summons private hospital officials
Kerala: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned senior administrative officials, including managing directors of several private hospitals in Kerala, as part of its investigation into an alleged multi-crore organ trafficking racket.
The agency is investigating whether hospital authorities or transplant coordinators played any role in facilitating the alleged illegal transplants or whether the forged documents were used to bypass the mandatory approval process.
The summons follows the ED's searches at multiple private hospitals across Kerala on June 18, during which officials seized organ transplant records, donor registries and financial documents. These records are now being cross-verified with statements given by hospital administrators as part of the ongoing investigation.
The ED is also tracing the alleged proceeds of crime linked to the organ trafficking network. Investigators are examining whether hospital management and transplant coordinators were involved in the alleged racket or whether the accused exploited gaps in the existing system.
Under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, prior approval from a government-authorised district authorisation committee before carrying out a transplant is mandatory, especially when organ donations involve unrelated donors. According to investigators, forged medical certificates, fake letterheads and fabricated police no-objection certificates were allegedly used to create false relationships between donors and recipients to obtain these approvals. Hospital sources reportedly told investigators that such forged documents were difficult to identify during the verification process.
The investigation stems from an earlier Kerala Police probe into the alleged organ trafficking network, which is suspected to have facilitated at least 20 questionable organ transplants across different hospitals by recruiting financially vulnerable individuals as donors. Investigators suspect that recipients allegedly paid Rs 20-25 lakh for a transplant, while donors reportedly received only Rs 5-10 lakh, with intermediaries allegedly pocketing the remaining amount.
According to a report by The Hindu, one of the persons involved in the case was arrested by a Kerala Police team from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He is accused of coordinating the inter-district trafficking network and faces nearly a dozen criminal cases. His wife and several alleged associates have also been arrested for their roles in forgery and in identifying and recruiting donors from Ernakulam and Kollam districts.
The ED is continuing its investigation to trace the money trail, examine the role of all those involved and identify any additional proceeds of crime linked to the alleged racket.
