New Delhi|HL
Dipak Kar, a resident of West Bengal’s Baguihati was arrested by
Kolkata Police on Thursday.
He was allegedly involved in the interstate kidney racket busted in Delhi last week. Kar was allegedly one of the prime sources of finding ‘donors’ for Rajukumar Rao, the alleged kingpin of the racket, who was arrested from Rajarhat in West Bengal Tuesday.
According to police sources, Kar, 55, not only looked for ‘donors’ among poor families, but he focused particularly on those burdened by medical loans, with hospitals emerging as the racket’s hunting ground. Rao reportedly told police that he was introduced to the illegal organ trade racket by Kar. In 2011, a case had been registered against him at the Baguihati police station, where he is presently being held, over his alleged involvement in the organ trafficking ring, said sources.
Meanwhile, initial investigation has revealed details about how the racket operated. “The entire operation was so polished that it would, on an average, take the accused 72 hours to complete every step of the process — from finding a donor for the client to the actual surgery. At times, they were able to complete it in 48 hours,” said a police officer.
Kar, who had a list of prospective donors, kept in touch with an entire network of middlemen working in different hospitals, said police sources. Explaining the task of the middlemen, a source said, “They would identify families. They would look for healthy individuals, between the ages of 20 and 30, who were poor, uneducated and had loans. Hospitals, particularly private ones, were the perfect hunting ground for them because of the high bills that many would have to pay following the treatment. Desperation and poverty provided the perfect formula.”
Kar claimed to have received at least Rs 50,000-1 lakh from Rao for each donor he “arranged”.
The source added that while the initial arrest had unearthed “a vast network of doctors and hospital employees” and led investigators to zero in “on at least three private hospitals directly involved in the racket”, the police were in the middle of cross-checking all the information and gathering material evidence.
On why Rao, Kar and their associates chose Kolkata as one of the major centres of their operation, a police source explained, “There are a number of hospitals specialising in nephrology in Kolkata. Surrounding Kolkata are two districts, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, where stark poverty makes many families extremely vulnerable. Kolkata is the obvious destination for specialised treatment and that is where Kar’s agents would find desperate donors,” added the source.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government Thursday ordered the state CID to constitute a team and investigate the case, after it was found that of the 11 arrested, at least seven were from Bengal.
