CA from Bengaluru tries to sell kidney, ends up losing over ₹6 lakh

A Bengaluru man searched online to connect with those looking for kidneys. He contacted a person regarding it after getting their number from a website.

A chartered accountant (CA) in Bengaluru fell prey to scammers when he tried to sell his kidney to find a solution to his financial woes. As per reports, the man got the contact details of people looking for kidneys from the internet and ended up losing over ₹6.2 lakh.

The Bengaluru CA shared that he was unaware that selling kidneys to strangers is illegal (representational image). (Unsplash/@Sergey Zolkin)

According to the Times of India (TOI), a man named Raghuvaran (name changed) searched online to look for a buyer. During his search, he came across the website https://kidneysuperspecialist.org. He contact them through the number (9631688773) he found on the website.

Upon calling the number, he was instructed to get in touch over WhatsApp, where he was asked to provide his name, age, address, and blood group. He was informed that he would get half of the money before the removal of his kidney, and the total price was set at ₹2 crore.

At first, the scammers asked for ₹8,000 for the registration fee, and NOC, reported TOI. Later, he was reportedly asked to pay ₹20,000 to purchase a code and then ₹85,000 to operate the code. Following this, he was asked to pay ₹5 lakh for tax clearance, citing that it would help with the transfer of funds to his account.

Raghuvaran, however, got suspicious when he was asked to pay ₹7.6 lakh more for anti-drug and terrorist clearance forms. At this point, he reached out to his senior, who confirmed that he had been scammed.

"The caller, a woman, claimed to be a staffer of State Bank of India, Delhi, and asked me to make a payment of ₹7.6 lakh to get an anti-drug and terrorist clearance form. I suspected something fishy and didn't make the payment. They had sent me a form by email. I called my boss and a few friends. My boss informed me it was a scam and suggested that I immediately lodge a police complaint," Raghuvaran told TOI.

Why did he want to sell his kidney?

While talking to TOI, Raghuvaran shared, "I wanted to pay my car's EMI, close my credit cards, and solve other financial issues". He added that he was not aware that it is illegal to sell a kidney to a stranger.

A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and IPC Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property), reported the TOI. Police also froze the fraudsters' accounts. "We suspect the fraudsters have cheated many others similarly," a cop told TOI.