DEHRADUN: The stringent Gangster Act was slapped against the six accused involved in the interstate kidney racket case that was busted near Dehradun last month, a senior police officer said Tuesday.
The Gangster Act has special provisions to deal with those involved in anti-social activities – human trafficking for commercial exploitation and organ removal in this case – to control organised crime. It defines a ‘gang’ as a group of people collectively committing anti-social activities and ‘gangster’ as a member of the gang abetting or assisting in the activities of the gang.
Dr Amit Kumar Raut, the alleged racket kingpin, was booked as the ‘gang leader’ under the Gangster Act. Other accused, including his brother Jeevan Kumar Raut (from Mumbai) and son Dr Akshay Kumar Raut (from Gurugram), agent Javed Khan (from Mumbai) and the doctor couple of Dr Sanjay and Sushma Das (from Nepal), were listed as gang members.
The accused are already booked for cheating, wrongful confinement, trafficking and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and Sections 18/19/20 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act.
Dehradun superintendent of police (rural) Sarita Dobhal said the accused worked in tandem as a gang and targeted innocent people to transplant their kidneys for illegal commercial exploitation. “We wanted to further tighten grip on them (accused) as it becomes difficult for those booked under the Gangster Act to secure bail (as compared to other cases),” Dobhal told Hindustan Times.
{{/usCountry}}Dehradun superintendent of police (rural) Sarita Dobhal said the accused worked in tandem as a gang and targeted innocent people to transplant their kidneys for illegal commercial exploitation. “We wanted to further tighten grip on them (accused) as it becomes difficult for those booked under the Gangster Act to secure bail (as compared to other cases),” Dobhal told Hindustan Times.
{{/usCountry}}While the accused will face trial in a special court meant for hearing cases under the Gangster Act, the police will be able to seek their custody for a longer time, the SP added.
The Dehradun police is searching for the absconding accused, including Dr Akshay Raut and the Das couple who used to arrive from Nepal to assist in illegal kidney surgeries. “Our teams have conducted raids in different parts of the country and we are also in touch with our local contacts in Nepal,” Dobhal said.
The racket that operated from the Gangotri Charitable Hospital at Lal Tappad, around 30 km from Dehradun, was unearthed on September 11.