Seven arrested in kidney transplantation racket in Bangalore

The Ramanagara Police, on Saturday, named Columbia Asia, Manipal, Apollo, and Victoria Hospital, among others, in connection with the kidney transplant racket.

Briefing reporters, Ramanagara District Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal, said, the special police team was probing the nature of involvement of authorities in these hospitals in connection with the racket.

The police team, led by Kumbalagodu Police Inspector Manjunath, on December 31, 2012,  had arrested two persons — Mahadeva and Gopala.

They later arrested C D Srikanth, a contract labourer in food and civil supplies office in Magadi, along with two other accused Rajanna and Manjunatha, a taluk office employee.
The police also arrested Bangalore North Taluk Revenue Inspector Ranjan and another agent Ananth, for getting fake documents certified and assisting the accused in the operations.

Mahadeva and Gopala, it is understood, were engaged in luring the poor into donating kidneys in return for money in Kumbalagodu police station limits, while Shrikanth was aiding the gang in creating fake documents.

The police have seized a computer, scanner and hard disk used to fabricate the documents.

According to the modus operandi kidney transplantation was done after fake documents were certified and approved, and the recipients made to cough up between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. Only 10 or 20 per cent was given to the donors with the rest distributed among the agents.

Policing came handy

Basic policing helped the newly commissioned Kumbalgodu police station cops to bust the kidney racket. The police did not buy the theory of Laksmi of Dodda Gollarahalli in Bangalore when she sought permission to donate her kidney to her distant relative. She had claimed that she belonged to scheduled tribe. The police interrogated her and after verification found that she was a Lingayat.

The police began the probe which led to the cracking of the racket, Kumbalgodu Police Inspector Manjunath said.

Based on tips provided by her, the police arrested Mahadeva of Kanakapura and Gopala of Ramanagar at Mariyappanapalya. The duo identified poor persons at bus stands and markets and lured them to donate kidneys for money. They created fake records to obtain permission from government agencies. Mahadeva who is married to two women and had also made them donate one of their kidneys. 

He would strike a deal with doctors in private hospitals in Bangalore, while Gopala would prepare fake documents.

The contract employee at Food & Civil Supplies Department of Magadi Srikanth and Bangalore North Revenue Inspector Ranjan would assist Gopala in completing his work, the police said.

Rajanna of Magadi and Manjunatha would take the victims to hospital for surgeries. They allegedly supplied kidneys to Manipal, Columbia Asia, Apollo, K R, Victoria, BGS and Vikram hospitals.

Police said Mahadevaiah alias Mahadeva was caught in a similar racket in 2006-07. At that time, the case was investigated by the CID and he is said to have been absconding after release from custody. Gopala and Manjunatha were also wanted for earlier cases of similar nature.