M A I N   N E W S

Kidney Scam
Ramadoss seeks CBI probe
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 29
Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss today said the government had sought a CBI inquiry into the Rs 100-crore kidney transplant racket unearthed in Gurgaon last week. Dr Ramadoss’ assurance on an investigation by the nation’s premier investigating agency came a day after the Indian Medical Association, a non-government organisation of 1.9 lakh members, said the government should have entrusted the investigation into the racket to the CBI.

“It is an unfortunate incident and a black spot on the medical profession. We have sought a CBI inquiry into the illegal kidney transplant racket,” the minister told mediapersons here today.

Dr Ramadoss said the Human Organ Transplant Act would be amended and made more effective. “We want to make a provision for strong punishment which would not be less than seven years.” The government would also launch a National Organ Transplant programme soon to encourage voluntary organ donation. The ministry plans to link ORBO (Organ Retrieval Banking Organisation) facilities in the metros so that more organs from brain dead people can be retrieved and made available for transplant for needy recipients, he added.

Kidney trade mastermind wasn’t MBBS
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, January 29
The biggest kidney racket unearthed at Gurgaon recently is becoming murkier with the revelation that both Dr Amit Kumar, the mastermind, and his companion Jeevan Kumar were not MBBS but only bachelor degree-holders in ayurvedic medicine and surgery.

This revelation was made by Pooja, wife of Jeevan Kumar, father-in-law R.K. Singla and mother-in-law Manju Singla, who were interrogated by the police to know the whereabouts of both accused.

Gurgaon joint commissioner Manjit S. Ahlawat told mediapersons that a team from the Mumbai police had also reached Gurgaon to coordinate in the investigation. He said the police had so far been successful in collecting 5,000 documents relating to the kidney racket.

He said Amit had a plot in Australia on which construction was going on. He said 12 more bank accounts of both Amit and Jeevan had been traced. He disclosed that a passport application of Amit in Gurgaon had been cancelled.

Ahlawat said though documents of eight luxury cars had been seized, only one Ambassador was with the police.

He said the NRIs who were granted permission to leave the country yesterday had not gone abroad so far and would be available for interrogation.

Asked about the countries from where requests for kidney transplants had been received, Ahlawat said these included Canada, Greece and Sudan.