Kidney racket accused was not a surgeon

RACKET VICTIM: A man whose kidney was allegedly stolen is taken away by police.

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New Delhi: Police now say the prime accused in the racket were not allopathic doctors. Amit Kumar's (the key accused) brother's wife told the police this. Kumar's brother, Jeevan Kumar is a co-accused in the scam.

Police had raided her residence in Gurgaon on Monday night. She told police that both Jeevan and his brother Amit were only bachelor degree holders in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery.

Haryana Police raided two more houses belonging to Amit Kumar in Sector- 56 and Sector-17, Gurgaon. They also raided the home of Jeevan Kumar's in-laws', from where they recovered foreign currency.

They have also raided a luxury guest house in Gurgaon owned by Amit Kumar as a hospital and seized more incriminating documents. Another shady hospital in Ballabhgarh was also raided.

He owns two hospitals in Gurgaon under the banner of Liberty Health Care Pvt Ltd, located about five km apart, both of which were raided on Sunday.

The Haryana police on Sunday also said Amit Kumar may have fled the country. Gurgaon Police Commissioner, Mohinder Lal says Kumar may have used his foreign contacts to escape.

SSP Moradabad, Prem Prakash added that Dr Amit could be in Canada.

"It is not confirmed yet whether he is in Canada. We are investigating the matter. CBI is nodal agency for interacting with Interpol. Once we will get the police custody we will go in for a narco-analysis request," he said.

The Moradabad Police say that they will be looking into passenger records at the International Airport Delhi from January 24 to January 26 to try and trace Kumar's whereabouts.

"We are not ruling out the possibility that he may have escaped abroad by using his contacts. However, he will not be able to escape the legal channels," Mohinder Lal said.

He said the police was coordinating with various agencies to catch Kumar.

"We are not going to let him have an easy run for long. A man accused of being involved in 500 illegal transplants will not be allowed to go scotfree and we will track him down soon," he added.

Police have circulated photographs of Kumar and his accomplices, and airports across the country have been alerted. According to police sources, Kumar used six luxury cars including a Mercedez Benz, and two fake names for executing the racket.

Five foreign tourists, who had allegedly come for kidney transplants were found in Amit Kumar's "luxury guest house" on Saturday.

Mohinder Lal said the Gurgaon Police are preparing a database about the previous record of Dr Amit Kumar that will throw light about his alleged illegal activities.

Meanwhile, the Moradabad Police have sought seven-day custody of the another key accused Dr Upendra. They have also asked for permission to conduct a narco-analysis test on Dr Upendra.

Next Page: Ramadoss wants CBI probe in kidney racket

Ramadoss wants CBI probe in kidney racket

Even as more doctors and hospitals are coming under the scanner in the Gurgaon kidney racket, the Union Health Ministry has stated that it will seek a CBI inquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday stated that a CBI inquiry was essential because of the inter-state nature of the racket as well as the involvement of foreign nationals.

A team of Mumbai Crime Branch has arrived in Gurgaon to join in the investigations.

Dr Ramadoss was quoted by agencies as saying that the Government would bring in amendments to make the Organ Transplant Law simpler and to provide for stiffer punishment for racketeers.

The Health Ministry is recommending that the present punishment of few months to five years imprisonment be increased to two to seven years incarceration.

The revised legislation would also aim to bring more transparency in the organ donation, he was further quoted as saying.

The Government would also launch a National Organ Transplant Programme soon to popularise voluntary organ transplant among people.

"A major mass-media campaign will soon be organised in the country to bring about a behavioural change so that people are willing to donate organs," he was further quoted as saying.

The ministry was also planning to link the ORBO facilities among the metros so that more organs from brain dead people could be retrieved and made available for transplant among people needing it.

(With inputs from agencies)