Operation Exploitation
- Amit Kumar, a doctor with an organ-trade history of 21 years, was arrested again this end-July, but he ‘escaped’ while being escorted to Anand, Gujarat
- Apollo in Delhi and Mumbai’s Hiranandani are two hospitals accused of facilitating kidney trade
- India has 2 lakh people in need of kidney transplant every year; only 5,000 get it. The country logged 21,395 transplants in past 45 years; only 5 in 1971.
- Legal organ transplants involve a lot of formalities. Minister Sushma Swaraj, e.g, is waiting for a right kidney match.
***
Indian Railways has always had its ticket reservation forms asking whether the passenger is a doctor. The idea, obviously, is to know if help can come in case of a medical emergency during travel. From Amit Kumar, though, authorities expected no such mercy: he was already known as Dr Horror for his role in a Gurgaon kidney racket case. Just south of Delhi, Kumar headed an illegal organ transplant operation, eventually prompting the police in early 2008 to arrest the linchpin from Nepal to where he had escaped. A CBI court sentenced the “quack” to seven years’ imprisonment, but that did not lead to his punishment. The middle-aged man kept fighting multiple cases. This monsoon, Kumar was nabbed again—on identical complaints that came from Gujarat. After a round of probe in the national capital, the police were escorting him on Ahmedabad-bound Swarna Jayanti express back to Anand on August 9 when he gave the cops a slip.
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