Kidney racket busted; four booked

Mumbai: Four persons were Thursday booked in connection with an alleged kidney racket at a leading private hospital in suburban Powai, police said.

The matter came to light after a social worker informed the police that a kidney transplant operation scheduled for today had to be stopped as the kidney donor and recipient were not related, they said.

"A social worker approached Hiranandani Hospital authorities and informed them that the kidney transplant operation of a patient, Brijkishor Jaiswal, has to be stopped as the donor is not his wife and documents submitted for kidney transfer are forged," a senior police official said.

Based on the complaint filed by the social worker, four persons have been booked under IPC sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery) and others.

All four have been brought to the police station for questioning and are likely to be arrested soon, a senior police official.

Meanwhile, the Hiranandani Hospital said in a statement that a husband-wife duo was slated to undergo a kidney transplant surgery, but when the authorities came to know that it may be a case of false identification and the couple was not related, the surgery was cancelled.

"No organ was retrieved from the donor. We cooperated with the police and shared all the legal documents submitted by the couple to the Institutional Ethic Committee as part of the approval process (as mandated by law)," the statement said.

"The hospital is fully supporting the police in investigating the matter. We are also bringing this matter to the attention of other healthcare service providers and health authorities," it added.