Manhunt on to nab brokers in Kidney racket case

Chennai, Jan 20 (UNI) Two days after the probe into the sensational kidney racket involving gullible women living in tsunami shelters, was handed over to it, the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) has launched a manhunt to nab the brokers, while mounting its surveillance on ten hospitals, where the alleged transplants had taken place.

As more and more cases of selling of kidneys started trickling in, the investigation into the racket was shifted from the Chennai city police to CB-CID.

The kidney trade has been on for the last couple of years and the tsunami, which had compounded their woes, and abject poverty came in handy for the ''Organ brokers'' to lure the gullible people.

Police sources said here that at least ten hospitals, including five in Chennai, one each in Tiruchy, Tirunelveli and Madurai had come under the police scanner.

Trading of human organs was banned and made illegal after the State adopted the Transplantation of Human Organs Act in 1995.

''Under the Act, hospitals could not perform kidney transplants without due certification. We will find out whether the hospitals, involved in the Kidney transplants, are duly certified by the Authorisation Committee'', the sources said.

A special team headed by CB-CID DIG Gunaseelan has launched a manhunt hunt for the brokers involved in the racket.

The issue gained centre stage following reports that several poverty-stricken fisherwomen living in Kargil nagar in North Chennai, had sold their kidneys for measely amounts to eke out a living.

These women, who were hit by the tsunami that struck the Chennai and Tamil Nadu coasts in December 2004, were promised upto Rs one lakh for selling their kidney by the 'organ brokers', who took them to hospitals in distant places to remove them.

But reports, however, said that the gullible women were not even paid half the promised amount.

Meanwhile, the city police today released a list of 30 affected people, who had sold their Kidneys. Twentyfive of them have sold their kidneys six months ago.

UNI