Indian kidney racket fugitive held in Nepal
Nepal: Nepal's police have arrested an Indian man suspected of
being the mastermind of an illegal kidney transplant racket in India, a
top force official said.
The racket was uncovered and made headlines in India last month in
the booming IT city of Gurgaon outside New Delhi, with reports that
hundreds of poor labourers may have been duped or forced into donating
organs to wealthy clients.
The 40-year-old Amit Kumar was arrested at a resort in Chitwan
National Park, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Kathmandu on Thursday
evening. Chitwan is popular among foreign tourists for jungle safaris
and wildlife watching.
"He was sitting in the lobby of the hotel from where we arrested
him," police officer Kiran Gautam said from Hetauda, the biggest town in
the region.
"He did not resist being arrested," Gautam said.
The case was one of the largest transplant rackets reported in India
in recent years and has led to calls for the government to tighten the
regulation of kidney transplants to stop backstreet operations.
Kidney failure has become more common in rich countries, often
because of obesity, and a shortage of transplant organs has fuelled a
black market that exploits needy donors.
Kathmandu, Friday, Reuters |