Mugged on arrival in Delhi, how man from Kutch fell prey to organ scam

Raghu Sharma, 21, one of the victims in the kidney transplant scam, told mediapersons on Thursday that he had come to Delhi in April to find a job.

Raghu Sharma, 21, one of the victims in the kidney transplant scam, told mediapersons on Thursday that he had come to Delhi in April to find a job. However, all his belongings were stolen as soon as he arrived in the city, and he had to take shelter at a city gurdwara.

(AFP FILE/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Talking to reporters at the Hauz Khas police station, Sharma was the first victim of the racket that the police found. The police, however, said Sharma was yet to be arrested.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Benita Mary Jaiker on Wednesday said that a police informer led them to a person, Pintu Kumar Yadav, who told them that he was also targeted by the members of the kidney racket, but he got out in time. He, however, told them about Sharma, whose one kidney has already been removed.

Sharma led the police to Sarvjit Jailwal, an alleged member of the gang. Jailwal is in police custody along with nine others.

On Thursday, Sharma told reporters that during his stay at the gurdwara, a man who identified himself as Raju alias Rajkumar, persuaded him to sell his kidney. Raju knew that Sharma was in desperate need for money and told him that he will get him a good sum of money for the organ.

“At first, I had an altercation with him. But he continued persuading me for the next few days. To convince me, Raju told me that my organ donation will be ‘for a noble cause and to save someone’s life’. I was also introduced to a man who had already donated his kidney and was living without any health complications. I agreed to sell my kidney for ₹3 lakh,” said Sharma.

A police officer said that Sharma told them how his parents had to sell their ancestral house for his sister’s wedding, and that the marriage did not last and his sister returned to her parents home with her son.

Investigators said that the agents of the racket looked for potential donors/sellers at religious places, hospitals, railway stations, bus terminals and other public places across Delhi.

The scam was busted on Wednesday with the police announcing the arrest of 10 people, including a doctor and three operation theatre (OT) technicians of a reputed Delhi-based private hospital.

“They mostly looked for poor migrants reaching Delhi for livelihood. They kept a close watch on their victims and befriended them. Later, the agents offered them money for selling their kidneys,” said an investigator, quoting the information shared by the accused with the police during their questioning.

Another investigator said the racketeers also monitored social media messages pertaining to kidney donors and recipients.

“Members of the racket contacted both the donor/seller and the recipient through encrypted messages and call and strike a deal. After the deal is finalised, they promise to take care of the entire kidney transplant procedure. The racketeers built a network of agents and employees in hospitals and diagnostic centres. They used to make ₹20 to ₹40 lakh for one illegal kidney transplant. Each individual in the network performed a different task,” said the officer.

Sharma said that after he agreed for the surgery, Raju took him to a house in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani and handed him over to one Vipin (yet to be arrested). Vipin kept him there for a couple of days and later introduced him to Mohammad Latif, a commission agent working for AS Health Square, a diagnostic centre in Hauz Khas. Through Latif, Sharma’s pre-kidney transplant tests were conducted at the centre and another diagnostic centre in Hauz Khas, Delhi Institute of Functional Imaging, the investigators said.

Both the centres denied their involvement in the scam, and said they followed all procedures before taking a patient for diagnostic tests.

“I stayed at Vipin’s place for 10 days during which all my medical tests were done. After the reports came, I was introduced to the brother of a patient and he told me that I will be saving his brother’s life. On May 13, I was taken to a room in Paschim Vihar and from there to a hospital in Guhana (Haryana) for the organ transplant,” said Sharma.

He further said that some doctors arrived at the hospital after midnight of May 14 and carried out the kidney transplant procedure the next morning. Sharma was kept in the hospital for four days and later shifted to the Paschim Vihar room, where three more donors and an agent were present.

Two days later, he was paid ₹2 lakh, and then ₹1.20 lakh after two more days. Sharma was then brought back to the Malviya Nagar (Hauz Rani) flat where the police found him during a raid.

“I have told the police the entire story, and that I was paid ₹3.20 lakh for my kidney,” added Sharma.

Police said Sharma may be arrested in the case since selling an organ is a crime.