Kidney kingpin picked up nuances of surgery from CDs

Kidney kingpin picked up nuances of surgery from CDs: CBI

4 Mar, 2008, 1058 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of a global kidney racket, had not only picked up the "fine art of surgery" from CDs but had also taught his brother and aide Jeewan Raut some of the procedures, says a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official.

"Amit Kumar's interrogation points to the fact that he has sound knowledge about surgery procedures. He used to stitch the cuts of patients himself after the removal of their kidney," the CBI official said on condition of anonymity.

"So much so that he was in charge of the post-operative care of the patients. For the past two-three years, Amit had been taking a keen interest in learning the fine art of surgery and teaching his younger brother. Amit claims to have picked up the nuances of surgery from CDs," he revealed.

Statements by associates of Amit alias Santosh Rameshwar Raut also corroborate that the 43-year-old Ayurvedic doctor was well versed with the nuances of renal surgery.

"Nurse Linda, who has worked with Amit Kumar, confirmed that Amit and Jeewan used to be present in the operation theatre," the agency official said.

Linda, a resident of Manipur, had worked for Amit for over a year before joining the state-run Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in 2006.

Amit, who allegedly carried out 600 kidney transplants along with fellow doctors that included his brother Jeewan, was nabbed after a fortnight's hunt in Nepal February 10.

Jeewan, who has a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) degree, was arrested from Delhi February 17.

In the operation theatre Amit, dubbed Doctor Horror, used to behave like a well-qualified doctor, the CBI official said.

"(Upendra) Aggarwal, a key aide of Amit Kumar, has also confirmed that Amit was well-acquainted with the surgical procedures."

The ring that served clients from Britain, the US, Greece, Lebanon, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) among other countries was busted by the police forces of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Jan 24 in Gurgaon, the IT hub bordering New Delhi.

Using persuasion, trickery and threats, Amit and his aides allegedly forced poor patients and labourers to part with one of their kidneys for a pittance. The organs were then sold off to wealthy clients from India and abroad at huge profits.

Vidya Prakash alias Pappu Jatav, on whose complaint the racket was unearthed, was also put on the operation table, but Amit decided against removing his kidney as he had two renal veins, the official said.

"This explains the recent claim of the Moradabad police that both of Jatav's kidneys were found to be intact after his ultrasound scan February 17."

In his complaint on January 21, Jatav claimed that when he had gone to Gurgaon to work as a labourer two years ago, Amit and Upendra had forced him to undergo an operation and that one of his kidneys had been removed.

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