CBI wants to get on with kidney probe

The CBI director receives a copy of the letter sent by the Haryana govt to the Centre requesting a CBI probe in the case, reports Tushar Srivastava.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has expressed its desire to take up investigation of the kidney racket case. CBI director Vijay Shanker said the agency should take-up the case, as they believe it has “inter-state and even international implications.” The agency, the CBI director said, has a received a copy of the letter sent by the Haryana government to the Centre requesting a CBI probe in the case.

The Central government now needs to issue a notification for transferring the case to the CBI.

CBI probe will yield faster results

Senior CBI officials say the earlier the probe is transferred to the agency, the better it would be. “Considering the fact that the racket is spread across various states, a CBI probe must be ordered at the earliest to help in swift investigation. There are even reports of the kingpin, Dr Amit Kumar, owning a hospital in Nepal. If these reports are true, then the CBI is the best agency to carry forward the investigations,” a senior CBI official said.

Senior officials said that the request by the Haryana government was enough for the Central government to transfer the case even if a similar request is not received from the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government. The Moradabad Police too has registered two cases relating to the kidney racket.

“We can start our probe and we can ask for details from the UP Police if need rises in the future,” an official said.

“Since we have teams in various states, we are in a better position to carry out coordinated action,” the official said.

Delay in transfer won’t affect probe Senior officials are of the view that the delay in transfer of investigation won’t affect the probe in any manner. “Some of the victims have already been traced. The place from where the illegal operation was being run has been identified. A number of accused persons have already been arrested. Efforts are on to track Amit Kumar,” the official said.

Prompt action by the CBI had ensured that Red Corner Notices (RCN) were issued against against Amit Kumar and his brother, Jeevan Rawat.

A Gurgaon court had issued arrest warrants against the brothers on January 29. The Interpol notice states that Kumar, 40 and Rawat, 36 are wanted for crimes committed against life and health, organized crime and trans-national crime.