Seven year-old kindey transplant racket busted; raids continue

Lucknow Jan 25 (UNI) Police in Uttar Pradesh today carried out raids to arrest those involved in a kidney transplant racket busted in Gurgaon, Haryana, last night.

The illegal organ transplant racket was being run for the past seven years and police suspect that so far at least 500 kidneys have been illegally transplanted by the gang.

A joint team of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana police unearthed a major kidney transplant racket spread across Uttar Pradesh and Haryana with the arrest of five people.

''Though there are no new arrests, we will shortly pin down more accused in the case,'' senior police officials said here.

UP police acted following complaints from the victims in Moradabad who were generally from poor families.

Senior police officials at the state headquarters here said those arrested include a doctor, a quack and three others.

A doctor, Umesh a quack Jagdish and three of their accomplices were arrested. Several other doctors are said to be involved in the racket were absconding.

The arrests were made during a raid on a house in Sector 23 of Gurgaon last night.

Police said the kidneys of three patients from Agra, Hapur and Ghaziabad districts were allegedly removed without their knowledge.

The gang had links in Meerut, Muradabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Poor labourers from western UP and adjoining areas were lured to Delhi and Gurgaon on the pretext of offering a job. These victims were then taken to Gurgaon Sector 23 apartment where they were illegally detained. ''They used to lure people at railway stations and bus stands,'' said Pappu, on whose complaint police carried out raids.

The victims were later told that their kidneys will be extracted.

Those who agreed were paid a sum between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh and those who even refused were also forcibly made to undergo the surgery.

The gang members then sold the kidneys for anything between Rs 8 to 10 lakh to those who could pay the amount. The buyers also included some foreigners.

UNI NAB MB RL AS1834