Krishna told investigators that business losses pushed him to seek donors through Facebook. He allegedly shared his details in a Facebook group and later travelled to Cambodia, where he donated his kidney.
The Chandrapur police Tuesday arrested a man from Solpaur who allegedly posed as a doctor in the case lodged after a local farmer claimed that he was forced to sell his kidney abroad to repay his loan.
The arrested accused was identified as Krishna Mallesham, 35, who allegedly facilitated the farmer’s travel to Cambodia where the kidney was sold.
In his written complaint, the farmer, Roshan Shivdas Kule, said he searched online for information on selling a kidney and came in contact with one Dr Krishna, based in Chennai.
Based on the complaint, police invoked Sections 18 and 19 of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, in the FIR.
According to police, Krishna is an engineering graduate and a doctor in Cambodia allegedly used him as a facilitating agent.
Police suspect that Krishna has helped at least 12 people travel to Cambodia to sell their kidneys.
The accused has not disclosed their identities yet and is believed to have earned commissions of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Addressing the media, Chandrapur Superintendent of Police Mummaka Sudarshan said a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case further.
The SP said the cyber cell and the local crime branch played a crucial role in tracking the accused. Technical analysis of the victim’s mobile phone led investigators to Krishna’s location, following which he was arrested.
During interrogation, police said it emerged that Krishna himself had donated a kidney in 2018 after facing financial distress. The organ transplant was carried out at a military hospital in Cambodia. Investigators have identified the hospital as Preah Ket Mealea Hospital in Phnom Penh.