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‘Dr Kidney’ brought to Delhi
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 9
Amit Kumar, alleged kingpin in the kidney racket case, was today brought here from Kathmandu by a CBI team.

The 44-year-old Ayurvedic doctor was brought here by a two-member CBI team in an Air India commercial flight from Kathmandu after the Nepalese authorities acceded to India’s request for his deportation. According to CBI, the accused was handed over to the special team in the presence of Indian embassy officials.

Amit, who was brought straight to the CBI Headquarters from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, would face charges of illegal organ transplant, wrongful confinement and cheating.

The agency is expected to present him before a designated court here tomorrow and seek his police remand to take further the investigation in the international Kidney racket case.

The CBI has registered a case against Amit and others under various sections of the IPC, including 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 420 (cheating).

Amit has also been booked under the transplantation of human organs act of 1994. If convicted, he may face a term up to 10 years. Amit Kumar alias Santosh Rameshwar Raut, was arrested on Thursday from a hotel near the India-Nepal border.

According to the Gurgaon police, which initiated the probe into the racket, Amit Kumar and his associates allegedly obtained kidneys illegally, often through force, from poor people and then transplanted them to needy patients, who could pay their exorbitant charges.

About-turn in Nepal
Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu

Since he (Amit) is an Indian citizen and did not commit any crime in Nepal, we could deport him to India. — Ram Chandra Poudel, seniormost minister in Nepal Cabinet after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala

Kidney racket kingpin Dr Amit Kumar, who was arrested by the Nepal Police on Thursday evening, was deported to India on Saturday. The police did not register any cases against him here.

Talking to The Tribune, Gopal Baglay, spokesperson for the Indian embassy here, said the Nepal Government had earlier handed over Dr Amit to the Indian authorities. “Nepal took this step in response to the Indian government’s request for deportation in the context of the Interpol’s red-corner notice,” he said.

Baglay said Dr Amit was deported to India via an Indian Airlines flight around 5.30 pm.

The Indian Government had written a letter to Nepal seeking his extradition on Friday, soon after the Nepal Police made Dr Amit’s arrest public. The police had announced that it would lodge three cases against him regarding illegal possession of foreign currency, carrying out human organs transplants illegally and on the basis of the Interpol red-corner notice after carrying out investigations.