Cops took bribe to let off kidney scam accused

COP IN THE DOCK: Police have arrested an ASI for extorting money from the kidney scam accused.

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Keywords: Amit Kumar, Organ Trade

New Delhi: The dirty linen is finally out in the open. On Friday, Delhi Police arrested one Assistant Sub-Inspector and charged six others for extorting money from Dr Upendra, a key accused in the multi-crore kidney scam.

According to the police, a seven-member special staff team of Central Delhi district led by ASI Ravinder picked up Dr Upendra from Gurgaon (some time before he was formally arrested) and from there he was taken to New Delhi Railway Station.

Upendra was made to call Dr Amit who was told to bring money so that Dr Upendra would be released.

From there, he was taken to the Special Staff Office at Kamla Market and finally to Connaught Place where the money was delivered to the policemen and Upendra was released.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Satyendra Garg says, "Head Constable Devendra Kumar ko yeh jaankari thee aur usne in logon ko isske baarey mein bataya tha." (Head Constable Devendra Kumar knew about this entire racket.)

The murky role of the Delhi Police emerged during the interrogation of Upendra's driver, Harpal. However, no action was taken against any policeman who was named by the driver.

The police was evasive when asked about the possible involvement of higher ranked officers.

Satyendra Garg says, "They might have acted on their own or taken the concurrence of some officer. We are investigating into the matter."

This extortion also led to the police missing out on Dr Upendra's laptop, which could have provided clinching evidence against the two doctors.

Whether it's a suo moto action taken by the Delhi Police or it's the fear of the CBI which forced tyhe police to arrest ASI Ravinder, one cannot be sure.

However, according to sources, there was a lurking fear in the Delhi Police that an investigation done by the CBI might not differentiate between the rank of an ASI or an ACP — a yardstick which the Delhi Police does not follow.