Fear is stalking the daily-wage earners, in the dingy bylanes of central Mumbai. Many of them have gone “missing” from areas, such as Nagpada and Bhendi Bazaar
Fear is stalking the daily-wage earners, in the dingy bylanes of central Mumbai. Many of them have gone “missing” from areas, such as Nagpada and Bhendi Bazaar, in the past couple of weeks. There are hushed whispers that they have been “abducted for their kidneys”. And those, who are still around, dread that any day, they too would be “abducted and taken to some isolated place outside Mumbai, where their kidneys would be illegally removed”.
Rumours have been rife of a kidney racket, operating from an undisclosed location near Nashik, targeting the daily-wage labourers. Siraj Usman Shaikh, who was “abducted”, but managed to give his captors the slip and return to Mumbai, has filed a complaint with Dongri police. According to his statement, he was pushed into a black van by three men who looked like cops. He was taken to an isolated bungalow in Nashik, where there were at least 100 others like him. After being locked in for a couple of days, he fled.
Police said that Shaikh was their best bet to bust the racket. Acting on his complaint, police teams have been dispatched to Nashik to locate the bungalow. “We will investigate in details to ascertain Shaikh’s claims. Meanwhile, if there are other victims, we would request them to come forward and register their complaints,” said a senior officer of Dongri police station.
In the narrow lanes of Nagpada, there are clusters of crammed tailoring units. The men there discuss in hushed tones about several co-workers who have gone “missing”.
“I know at least three people who have not reported to work in the past one week. I don’t know if they have gone back to their hometown or have been abducted for their kidneys,” said Shezaad Ansari, a tailor who earns Rs2, 000 a month.
Like Ansari, many others are fearing the worst. “I will not be surprised if there is a kidney racket targeting us. We are poor and have no one to back us. Each one of us is desperate for money, “ said Usman Azad, a porter.
Meanwhile, shocked at several people going “missing” from the area, Nabi Asgar Ali, general secretary, Maharashtra State Dargi Association, would write to the deputy chief minister RR Patil and Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor, requesting them to look urgently into the matter.
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