Maharashtra Police uncover pan-India kidney racket with Cambodia links; Tamil Nadu hospital, 2 doctors under scanner

An SIT and Local Crime Branch personnel were dispatched to detain the two doctors in New Delhi and Trichy. (File photo)

The Maharashtra Police Wedneday said they uncovered a pan-India kidney transplant racket based out of a Tamil Nadu hospital with alleged links to Cambodia. The racket emerged during an investigation into a money-lending case involving a dairy farmer from Chandrapur, Roshan Kule, who alleged that he was forced to sell a kidney in Cambodia to escape from loan sharks.

Mummaka Sudarshan, Superintendent of Police (SP), Chandrapur,  said they have identified two doctors, Dr Ravinder Pal Singh of New Delhi and Dr Rajaratnam Govindswamy, managing director of Star Kims Hospital in Trichy in Tamil Nadu, as key players in the network.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Local Crime Branch (LCB) personnel were dispatched to detain the two doctors in New Delhi and Trichy after their names cropped up during the probe, he added. The police said the investigation revealed that the illegal transplants were also being carried out in India.

Earlier, the police arrested the main accused, Ramkrishna Sanchu alias Dr Krishna, who is not a doctor but allegedly posed as one, and his associate Himanshu Bharadwaj. The police said they found during the interrogation that both Krishna and Himanshu were kidney donors themselves and had sold their kidneys due to financial difficulties.

Bharadwaj allegedly contacted Dr Krisha through social media and was later taken to Star Kims Hospital in Trichy, where the kidney transplant procedures were allegedly carried out.

The police said technical analysis confirmed that Bharadwaj had also sold his kidney owing to financial distress. Krishna facilitated his travel and admission to Star Kims Hospital for the transplant, they added.

The police said the recipients were charged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 80 lakh for a kidney transplant. However, the donors allegedly received only Rs 5–8 lakh. Of the remaining amount, around Rs 10 lakh was allegedly taken by Dr Ravinder Pal Singh, another Rs 20 lakh was charged by the hospital for the surgery, while Krishna took the remaining, said the police.

SP Sudarshan said Cambodia does not appear to be running a kidney racket independently, and the investigation has exposed the involvement of Indian doctors, hospitals and agents. “We have established a clear link between the donor, hospital, doctors and agents involved. Further connections may emerge as the investigation progresses,” he said.

Ishwar Katkade, Additional SP, is leading the SIT probing the case. Statements of several people who allegedly accompanied the victims are yet to be recorded. The police said they will seek assistance from state and central authorities if additional links surface.