Gurgaon, February 1
The Interpol has issued international warrants for the arrest of two key accused in the multi-crore kidney transplant racket unearthed at Gurgaon recently. Gurgaon joint commissioner Manjit S. Ahlawat disclosed this while briefing mediapersons today. He said they were suspected to have escaped from the country shortly before the police conducted raids on their clinics.

He said the Gurgaon police had written to the CBI to approach the Interpol for issuance of a red corner notice against the mastermind of the biggest kidney racket, Dr Amit Kumar, and his co-accused, Dr Jeevan Kumar.

The doctors were believed to have fled the country following the raids and even if they were in the country they would make attempts to escape through illegal channels using their foreign contacts, he said. He said a red corner notice entailed that most of the countries would be looking out for apprehending them.

He said the police had also circulated photographs of Dr Amit Kumar and Dr Jeevan Kumar and alerted airports across the country to curb their escape.

Arrest warrants have been issued against Dr Amit Kumar (40) and Dr Jeevan (36) for illegally transplanting kidneys, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Meanwhile, in a joint operation, the Moradabad and Gurgaon police has arrested another doctor, Dr K.K. Agarwal, from Alwar, Rajasthan.

The police said during the past eight years, around 500 persons were forcibly operated upon to remove their kidneys, which were then transplanted in needy patients, including foreigners after payment of lakhs.

Sources said as a routine investigation, the police was grilling doctors and checking records of hospitals, laboratories and medical centres to establish if they had any links with the kidney scam. Alarm bells have started ringing in the NCR medical circles as a reaction to this move of the police.

The racket is believed to be spread in various states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra.

Mumbai, February 1
Doctor Santosh Raut alias Amit Kumar, the alleged mastermind of the kidney racket, had received extortion calls from gangster Chhota Shakeel, the police said today.

The gangster had been calling Raut since February 2005 and demanded Rs 1 crore. Even his wife was threatened, they said.

"Based on specific information, we had arrested two deported persons owing allegiance to the Chhota Shakeel gang from suburban Bandra on January 16 last year in possession of firearms. Their interrogation revealed that Shakeel had demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from Raut," DCP (detection) Deven Bharti told reporters here.

The arrested duo, identified as Tanveer and Jameer, were deported from the UAE in November 2006, Bharti said.

"They had decided to threaten Sunita in person or fire a few rounds to frighten her on the day they were arrested," he added.

They were booked under the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and are currently in judicial custody.

Raut was arrested in a kidney transplant racket in 1994 and Shakeel was under the impression that he had a thriving practice in Mumbai.