Kanpur couple fooled into giving kidneys

It seldom happens that unsuspecting patients and perpetrators languish alongside each other in the jail. The kidney racket run out of private-based Apollo Hospital at Sarita Vihar in New Delhi, that was busted by Delhi police in June this year, is a case in point.

44-year-old kidney donor Umesh Srivastav is one of the seventeen accused booked by Delhi police in the organ transplant scandal that rocked the city recently. Umesh is currently holed up in Patna along with his wife Neelu (44) at her mother's residence. Umesh said, "I was unaware of the fact that Neelu's kidney would be removed at the operation table on the ill-fated day. We only knew so as to what transpired when the police showed up to arrest us."

Neelu has been suffering from a tumour in her abdominal area, since many years. "In October last year, her pain aggravated. We ran from pillar to post for her treatment. The doctors quoted a figure of one and a half lakh to get her surgery done. In the meanwhile, an acquaintance named 'Gauri,' made us meet Ashu. They promised us to get Neelu operated for free for her tumour, if I was ready to part with my kidney," said Umesh.

In April earlier this year, Ashu, the accused tout in the scam, brought Umesh and Neelu to Delhi. He put them up at Hotel Dimple Lodge and Signature Inn at Paharganj. "We were served food regularly at the hotel. We were ferried around to the hospital for our medical check ups. We were asked not to open our mouths. The touts assured us that Neelu's tumour will be removed," Umesh said.

The touts forged Umesh's identity and showed him to be one 'Suresh Chand,' a make-believe uncle of 24-year-old Ghaziabad resident Ashutosh Gautam. Ashutosh was a sick patient, who needed a kidney. "I was taken by Ashutosh's family before the doctor and made to stand there. After all the documents are forged, it is a mere formality to stand in front of the doctor," he said.

In Neelu's case, papers were forged and she was shown to be the 54-year-old wife Baby Gupta of 62-year-old Jia Lal Gupta, a Jammu resident. Jia Lal was in need of a Kidney. "The touts promised to get my wife treated for her tumour. They told me that by forging papers they can avail of low-cost treatment for my wife. Just that I would have to part with my kidney. I willingly gave up my kidney hoping that my wife will avail of good treatment in a hi-fi facility. But they removed her kidney as well. They never gave us any money," said Umesh.

Umesh used to work as a mechanic at BK Automobiles in Kanpur until some months ago, where he earned close to Rs 7000 a day. Now he is left jobless and homeless. He and his wife stand accused of 'selling a kidney.'

Their two sons, one 18-year-old and another 17-year-old are in Dhanbad and Allahabad. "We could not manage to collect their mark-sheets from school, neither could we manage to get them admitted to college, after our arrests. We have sent them away to work," he said. "After our arrest, our landlord came and locked the rented house in Kanpur. We had to flee from Kanpur shame-faced. Neighbours would gossip all day along about the police case, leaving our heads hanging low in shame. We are red-faced."

Neelu's health is not improving. "They never removed her tumour. Instead they removed her kidney. She kept writhing in pain. We were holed up in jail for almost three months, only a week after our surgeries at Apollo Hospital. There were no check-ups or follow-ups in jail. We languished in utter distress. We had to pay Rs 22,000 to obtain bail," said Umesh.

A harangued Umesh ends up coughing out Rs 20,000 every month as the case progressed in the court. "The lawyers charge close to Rs 14,000 every month for appearance. There are two hearings every month. I end up spending Rs 5000 in travel. My relatives are arranging loans to fight the case. For how long will the ordeal go on?," Umesh pleads desperately.

Umesh and Neelu have been named in the racket chargesheet with fifteen other accused who are donors, recipients and touts, by Delhi police, under the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The doctors who had conducted the transplants were called in for questioning by the police but have not been charge-sheeted. The scam is spread over Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal.

(Tomorrow, in the series, we explore the plight of a middle-aged donor who sold a kidney to pay off his mounting loans)