2 held from Gujarat in kidney racket

The Powai police has sent teams to Gujarat to investigate a kidney transplant racket that was busted recently. Officials said that two people have been detained in the case and would soon be brought to the city.

The Powai police has till date arrested six people in connection with the kidney transplant racket, including an employee of LH Hiranandani Hospital, where the racket was unearthed. Sources added that the two people who were detained in Gujarat were allegedly middle agents.

“We have detained two people who knew the woman who was to donate her kidney to a patient. We are still investigating their role in the matter,” said an officer from Powai police station. “We suspect that they are the ones who put her in touch with (middleman) Vaijendra Bisen and made her agree to sell her kidney. But our investigations are still on and our team is in Gujarat for the same,” the officer added.

On Thursday, the Powai police, acting on a tip-off from a social worker, investigated the patient who was set for the kidney transplant. Officials found that the woman who was donating the kidney had submitted forged documents showing that she was the patient’s wife in order to facilitate the transplant. The police then arrested the patient, Brijkishore Jaiswal (48), his son Kishan and two middlemen, Bisen and Bharat Sharma.

The police, who also suspect the involvement of hospital authorities, arrested Nilesh Kamble, the transplant coordinator at the hospital, on Saturday.

Senior police officers from Powai, including the DCP Vinayak Deshmukh, are said to have held a meeting with top police officers on Monday to discuss the case. “The case might be transferred to the crime branch. But nothing has been confirmed yet,” said an officer.