Kanpur (UP), March 31 Uttar Pradesh Police busted an alleged illegal kidney transplant racket operating through multiple private hospitals in Kanpur on Tuesday, arresting five doctors and the alleged kingpin, officials said.
The arrests followed late-night raids on Monday at Med-Life hospital, Ahuja Hospital, and Priya Hospital (private hospitals) in the Kalyanpur area, conducted jointly with the health department led by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Haridutt Nemi, Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal said.
The investigation suggests the possible involvement of six to seven more hospitals, police said, adding that further arrests are likely in the coming days.
The police arrested hospital owners – Dr Preeti Ahuja, 50, her husband Dr Surjeet Singh Ahuja, 54 – medical practitioners Rajesh Kumar, 44, Ram Prakash, 40, and Narendra Singh, accused of facilitating unlawful organ transplants, he said.
Besides, the police have also arrested alleged mastermind Shivam Agarwal, 32, who reportedly impersonated a doctor, he added.
Preliminary findings suggest that a kidney from an MBA student, Ayush – originally from Bihar – was procured for Rs 10 lakh and sold to a patient, Parul Tomar of Meerut, for Rs 60 lakh, pointing to a profit-driven network exploiting vulnerable individuals, police said.
The donor had been admitted to Med-Life hospital, while the recipient, who had reportedly been battling kidney failure for eight years, had been shifted to another facility, they said.
A case has been registered against the six accused under Section 143 (trafficking of person) and 3(5) (A criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all) of the BNS and relevant Sections of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act.
The racket came to light after the donor, Ayush, alerted police over a payment dispute, alleging he received only Rs 3.5 lakh instead of the agreed amount. The tip-off triggered immediate raids and arrests, an official said.
Agarwal, the alleged mastermind, impersonated a doctor and lured donors through Telegram groups. The network reportedly targeted financially distressed individuals and dialysis patients, connecting them through illegal channels, Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal added.
So far, the police have recovered evidence of over a dozen illegal transplants, with the kingpin reportedly confessing to 50-60 such transplants across Kanpur over the past two years, they said.
According to the police, the network is suspected to have links to Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and even Nepal.
Authorities also flagged the involvement of foreign nationals in some cases, raising serious concerns over violations of transplant norms, which require strict government approval, especially for unrelated or overseas donors.
Three hospitals have been issued notices seeking explanations on patient admissions and transplant procedures, Additional CMO Ramit Rastogi told reporters.
Their licences might get cancelled pending further inquiry, he added.
The recipient's and donor's condition reportedly deteriorated after the surgery, following which they were admitted to Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) hospital for further treatment.
Police have also revealed that a South African woman, Arbica, underwent a kidney transplant on March 3. Though intelligence inputs had flagged the case earlier, officials said the information could not be acted upon in time.