Global kidney transplant racket: Delhi Police collects documents from Noida CMO’s office

The crime branch of the Delhi Police, which is investigating an international organ transplantation racket, has collected documents and details of kidney transplant cases that happened from 2022 till date in the Gautam Budh Nagar from the office of chief medical officer Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma on Thursday. 

Delhi Police officers said they uncovered an organ transplantation racket operating between India and Bangladesh, leading to the arrest of Dr Vijaya Kumari, a 50-year-old doctor from Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi last week. 

She is suspected to have been performed 15 to 16 illegal kidney transplants at Yatharth Hospital in Noida from 2021 to 2023.

Since 2022, permission has been given by the district organ transplant committee for 119 transplants, the CMO told Delhi Police on Thursday.

"We have made a total of seven arrests so far, including that of an Apollo doctor who has now been suspended. Police are not looking at 119 cases as of now. The transplant committee in Noida will investigate those cases," a senior Delhi Police officer associated with the case said, asking not to be named.

Amit Goel, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Delhi crime branch, said their team will go through the documents collected from the CMO's office. He refused further comment on the matter.

CMO Sharma said the crime branch team summoned the documents related to permission granted for organ transplant in the district, and these were made available to it.

"Our office is fully cooperating with the investigation. They asked us about out transplant approval committee and its members. Police also asked us about a particular patient and, while I cannot divulge details about the individual, we have submitted a written response to all their queries," Sharma said.

Delhi Police said the main suspect, Dr Vijaya Kumari (55), worked as a consultant at Noida hospitals and they found that two to three surgeries related to the racket took place at those hospitals. "Since the gang has been operating since 2022, we wanted records of all the kidney transplant cases and went to the CMO's office to collect those records. They shared a copy with us. We are checking 14 to 15 transplants that took place at a private hospital in Noida. We will also look into other cases in which Dr Kumari was involved," said the officer.

Pursuant to 2018 government order, a district level organ transplant committee was constituted under the CMO to approve transplant requests. The committee talks to both the patient and the donor and these conversations are video recorded. After examining the necessary documents, it gives permission for transplant and the video recording is kept as evidence, the CMO explained.

The racket was busted last month, when a police head constable received a tip-off about a group of men from Bangladesh staying in a small apartment.

Locals told the head constable that the men came for kidney treatment, but hardly seemed to have the money to afford the treatment. Suspecting foul play, a team raided the apartment on June 16, and caught three Bangladeshi nationals — Md Rasel, Md Sumon Miyan and Md Rokon — along with a Tripura-based man, Ratesh Pal.