Kidney racket: Kingpin admits to 6 transplants, lab helper held

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 1

Junaid Ahmed Khan, the main accused in the inter-state kidney racket, today claimed that six illegal kidney transplants were allegedly performed by the doctor of National Kidney Hospital, Jalandhar. The racket was busted by the Jalandhar Commissionerate.

Based on Junaid’s disclosures, the police today seized the records of the surgeries performed at the hospital.

The Police Commissioner has formed a SIT under the supervision of DCP Jalandhar Rajinder Singh to probe the matter.

The police today nabbed Harvinder Lal of Rahimpur village in Nakodar. He was working as a helper at Sunder Lab (Dr Lal Path Lab), being run by the kidney hospital doctor Dr Rajesh Aggarwal’s wife Deepa Aggarwal.

Harvinder was reportedly assisting the accused in the illegal trade, ADCP-II Amrik Singh Power said.

“We have been told by Junaid that apart from selling his own kidney at the National Kidney Hospital in Jalandhar, five more illegal surgeries were performed at the hospital.

“We have sought the record of the past surgeries and these were recognised by Junaid. However, Junaid’s record was not found in the hospital. The accused has been creating the blood relations between the recipients and donors by presenting fake IDs and other papers,” Power said.

ADCP Power said the police would check the seized records and match these with the report of the authorisation committee to establish the fraud.

As per the accused, kidney donors and recipients in the five transplants were from states like UP and Bihar.

“Junaid, who was arranging the recipients and donors, was getting Rs 3-5 lakh per case as commission,” a police official said.

Deepa Aggarwal, wife of Dr Rajesh Aggarwal, denied the allegations. She said, “We have been doing kidney transplants as per law — by checking all documentations of the recipients and the donors and with all approvals. I have transferred the working of Sunder Lab to Harvinder’s wife Manjit. The duo might have been changing the blood samples for DNA sampling in connivance with the racketeers. The truth will prevail.”