The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

‘ Never doubted them’: Staff at hotel where 2 accused stayed

THE NIGHT manager of Hotel Rampal Palace in Jasola was dumbfounde­d when he found himself face to face with policemen at 1 am on June 16. “They showed him a piece of paper and went inside. Within minutes they arrested two guests from Room No. 1, emptied it of their belongings, locked it and took away all the hotel’s documents regarding their booking,” recounted a hotel employee, who requested anonymity.

It was only weeks later that the hotel employees came to know the two guests from Bangladesh were among seven persons arrested for organ traffickin­g.

The Indian Express reported Tuesday that the Delhi Police arrested a 50- year- old doctor from Delhi- based Indraprast­ha Apollo Hospital last week for her alleged involvemen­t in an organ transplant­ation racket across Bangladesh and India. Police said Dr Vijaya Kumari, now under suspension, was the lone doctor working with the gang and had performed around 15- 16 transplant­s from 2021- 23 in Noidabased private Yatharth Hospital.

“We see so many patients here. Our hotel is right behind the ( Indraprast­ha Apollo) hospital, so many Indian and foreign patients and their caretakers come to stay here,” said the employee. “They’d been living there for 1.5 months. I would see them go for treatments and come back every day. We had taken copies of their visa, passport and medical documents, so we never doubted them,” he said.

On June 16, the Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested four men, including three Bangladesh­i nationals — Rasel ( 29), his brotherin- law Mohammad Sumon Miyan ( 28), Mohammad Rokon ( 26) — and Ratesh Pal from Tripura for allegedly being a part of an organised crime syndicate that would conduct illegal kidney transplant­s. On June 23, police arrested two Indian nationals, Vikram Singh and Sharique, who were part of the racket. On July 1, they arrested Dr Kumari.

While one patient and their caretaker stayed in the hotel, police sources said around five- six donors were living with Rasel in a flat in Jasola. Police said while the donors were not arrested, three patients were bound down.

The operation

It started at dialysis centres back in Bangladesh. Police said this is where another accused, If ti, who is yet to be arrested, stepped in, convincing patients he could procure them a donor and get them treatment and a kidney transplant from India.

Then Rasel would allegedly begin procuring potential kidney donors for the patients. He’d tell the donors, who were mostly from lower- income background­s, that he’d get them well- paying jobs in India after the operation. The moment they would arrive in Delhi, Rasel would take away their passports to prevent them from escaping, said police.

Police claimed Rasel too had sold one of his kidneys to a Bangladesh­i patient in 2019 before he started this racket.

According to police, Miyan, Rokon and Pal would then allegedly forge documents in the name of the Bangladesh High Commission to show that the patient and the donor were close family members — a requisite as per Indian law.

Police said Dr Kumari, a senior consultant and a kidney transplant surgeon, had performed the surgeries at Yatharth Hospital.

Additional Medical Superinten­dent of Yatharth Hospital, Sunil Baliyan, had said Dr Kumari was working with the hospital as a visiting consultant and performed transplant­s on patients brought by her. “No patient of Yatharth was given to her and she had performed one surgery in the last three months,” he said.

Police said Vikram Si ngh, who was Dr Kumari’s assistant, made Rs 20,0 0 0 for every patient file and patient- donor affidavit he al l ege dly f orge d. Mohammad Sharique would t hen get tests done f or Rs 50,000 to 60,000 per patient. Dr Kumari, meanwhile, would pocket Rs 2- 3 lakh per patient, claimed police sources.

Police said it would cost each patient around Rs 25- 30 lakh.