Gurgaon: The Haryana police has sought a red corner Interpol notice to track down Amit Kumar, alleged kingpin of the multi-crore kidney transplant racket, apprehending that he may have fled the country. Investigations have revealed that Dr Kumar owned several properties in Gurgoan and operated at least eight bank accounts.
Police seized eight cars used to ferry patients from two hospitals to his three-storied posh clinic here, Gurgaon police commissioner Mohiner Lal said. "We have learnt about eight banks that were operated by him. We have asked for all accounts to be frozen," he said.
Investigations also revealed that Kumar had spread his network systematically using unscrupulous agents to spot victims with the help of hospital staff.
Police had identified five nurses and 20 employees of two hospitals here who might be involved in the racket, Lal said.
The state police has written to the CBI to approach the Interpol for issuance of a red corner notice against doctor Kumar, Lal said.
There were indications that Kumar, who operated under different names, had fled the country, he said. Police is looking at the possibility of Kumar having escaped to Nepal where too kidney transplant operations were surreptitiously carried out.
"Amit Chaudhary, Amit Purshottam, Rajesh and Suresh are some of the names he used," Lal claimed, adding that his real name could be Sanatosh Rote.
Police said documents seized by them threw light on some 48 people who had contacted Kumar for kidneys. Besides India, these people hailed from the US, Canada, Greece and the UAE, the Police Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of the kidney racket, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has set up a three-member committee to probe the incident, and also called for a review of existing laws on organ transplant.
Announcing constitution of the committee, IMA's national president M Abbas said it would comprise former IMA secretary general Vinay Aggarwal, managing director and chairman of Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, and Drs SCL Gupta and Dharm Prakash. The committee has been directed to submit its report in 15 days.
Expressing anguish over the racket, Dr Abbas called for stern punishment for doctors indulging in such practices.
He also blamed the stringent organ transplantation laws as responsible for the current crisis, and urged that the Transplantation of Human Organ Act, 1994 should be made more lenient and both donor and recipient-friendly. "A more liberal approach is needed," Dr Abbas said.
He sought promotion of cadaveric organ donation and said the IMA would launch a nationwide awareness programme in this regard and also press the government for opening up more cadaveric organ retrieval centres.
In raids conducted over past week, a surgeon and four others were arrested from a house in Gurgaon from where the racket was being run for several years. The team allegedly made over 600 poor people part with their kidneys.
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