The arrested doctors were identified as nephrologist Dr Mukesh Shette (49), medical director Dr Anurag Naik (56), chief executive officer Dr Sujit Chatterjee (62), urologist Dr Mukesh Shah (57) and Dr Prakash Shetty (44).
Five doctors arrested in the kidney racket involving Powai-based LH Hiranandani hospital were produced before the metropolitan magistrate court in Andheri on Wednesday. They were remanded in to the police custody till August 13. Besides, three more sections under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (TOHA) have been slapped on them.
The arrested doctors were identified as nephrologist Dr Mukesh Shette (49), medical director Dr Anurag Naik (56), chief executive officer Dr Sujit Chatterjee (62), urologist Dr Mukesh Shah (57) and Dr Prakash Shetty (44).
The police will now investigate if the arrested persons made any monetary gains from the racket. "The probe has revealed that the arrested persons violated TOHA rules. We will also probe if the arrested persons were involved in any other illegal kidney transplant," said an officer privy to the investigation.
On July 14 this year, a local political leader, also the whistle-blower in the case, had informed his social worker friend Rajesh Pawar about an illegal kidney transplant scheduled at the Hiranandani hospital in Powai. The whistle-blower was also in possession of forged documents that were made for the transplant, police said.
The police was informed, after which a team rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, the whistle-blower and his friends accosted one of the main accused in the racket – Bhejendra Bhisen – outside the hospital premises.
The whistle-blower and his men then met Dr Naik at his administrative office and presented the set of bogus documents they had before him. Naik was informed that donor Rekha Devi (admitted in the hospital for transplant) was being fraudulently shown as the wife of recipient Brijkishore Jaiswal. It was also told that Bhisen had mediated the fraud.
Later, police arrested Bhisen and 13 others. So far, they have also seized Rs8.59 lakh in cash and a few documents from the arrested persons.
Case filed under IPC, TOHA
The arrested persons have been booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record). Initially, the police had applied section 19 (punishment for commercial dealings in human organs) of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (TOHA). Later, they added three more TOHA sections – section 12 (explaining effects etc to donor and recipient), 20 (punishment for contravention of any other provision of this Act) and 21 (offences by companies).
Arrestees, so far
Bhejendra Bhisen alias Sandeep, Kishan Jaiswal (son of recipient), Iqbal Ahmed Mohammad Siddqui Khan, Bharatbhushan Sharma, Nilesh Kamble, Khwaja Shamshuddin Patel, Yusufsa Diwan, Brijkishore Jaiswal (recipient), Shobhna Thakore alias Rekha Devi (donor), Dr Mukesh Shette, Dr Anurag Naikh, Dr Sujit Chatterjee, Dr Mukesh Shah and Dr Prakash Shetty.
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