Doctors, in connivance with the police, may be illegally removing organs of road mishap victims, including missing children, across the country. The Justice JS Verma committee had raised suspicion on the existence of “a racket” of extraction and sale of human organs in its report on the basis of the testimony of a top Union health ministry official and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director.

The panel sought to know from both if the organs of accident victims were being removed at hospitals.

While Jagdish Prasad, director general, health services at the Union health ministry, told the panel: “This was indeed the case and hinted at the connivance of the police”.

“The director, CBI (Ranjit Sinha), has also submitted that the CBI is aware of such cases,” the panel said in its report that castigated the CBI for not making any “serious attempt” to investigate these cases from 2007 to 2012.

Interestingly, when HT contacted Prasad, he denied making such a statement. Instead, Prasad — who had earlier served as the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital — insisted he was not aware of any such practice. “I told the committee if something like this was happening, it would require the connivance of the doctors,” Prasad said.
The panel also took a dim view of the steps taken by the police department to check instances of child trafficking, especially girls.

It said gangs abduct children and in connivance with the police they sell them and subject them to sexual assault and “possibly extraction of organs”.