How viral video led Maharashtra police to kidney transplant racket

A marginal farmer’s video against an illegal moneylender last month has led the Chandrapur Police in Maharashtra to unearth an international kidney transplant racket spread across several States and with links to Cambodia.

Two doctors from Tiruchi and Delhi are the prime accused in the case, said police. While one doctor is absconding, another accused doctor is on bail and has been asked to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandrapur, on Friday (January 2, 2026). So far, eight people have been arrested for being part of the racket and for illegal moneylending.

“We had arrested Dr. Ravinder Pal Singh from Healthy Human Clinics in Delhi, but he received bail. He has been asked to remain present here tomorrow (Friday). Dr. Rajratnam Govindaswamy, managing director of STAR KIMS Hospital, Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu, is still absconding. We are on the lookout for him. We had also raided his hospital,” Mummaka Sudharshan, the Superintendent of Police, Chandrapur, told The Hindu.

Last month, the clip by Roshan Kude, a young marginal farmer from Chandrapur, went viral. In the video, he could be heard saying that he had sold one kidney to repay a loan of ₹1 lakh to a moneylender, but the amount had ballooned to over ₹70 lakh with interest. When the police probed the matter, they took the moneylenders in custody. The investigation led the police to the racket through which poor youth were allegedly being lured to sell kidneys for a few lakhs. Some of the victims were taken to Cambodia where their kidneys were harvested.

“We have arrested eight persons so far. Six of them are moneylenders. The remaining two are agents who lured the victims. We have identified over eight persons who had sold their kidneys. Roshan Kude, the marginal farmer from Chandrapur, had gone to Cambodia with five more persons, our investigation has revealed. Two persons, namely Himanshu Bharadwaj and Krishna, had acted as agents. But both of them sold their kidneys earlier,” Mr. Sudharshan said. Several agents, donors, doctors, and hospitals are involved in this racket, he added.

Police said that after Krishna, alias Ramakrishna Sunchu, and Mr. Bharadwaj sold their kidneys, they started a racket to lure poor and marginalised farmers and youths to sell kidneys. These youths were either taken to Delhi, Tiruchi or Cambodia. Police have analysed mobile and technical data of the prime accused. “It has revealed not only international links extending to Cambodia but also a pan-India kidney transplant network involving agents, donors, doctors, and hospitals,” a police officer said.

The kidney sellers were the most exploited in this chain, Mr. Sudharshan said. While the organ receiver was charged ₹50 lakh to ₹80 lakh for each kidney transplant, the seller received just 10% of that amount. “These youth received ₹5 Lakh to ₹8 Lakh. Dr. Ravinder Pal Singh received approximately ₹10 lakh. Dr. Rajratnam Govindaswamy charged around ₹20 lakh for treatment and hospital arrangements, and Krishna and Himanshu collected nearly ₹20 lakh,” he said.