Evidence suggests link between Nithari killings and thriving organ racket in and around Noida, a senior police officer told DNA.
But sources say political pressure may sever link between killings and bodyparts trade.
NEW DELHI: Evidence recovered by police suggests a close link between the Nithari killings and a thriving organ racket in and around Noida, a senior police officer told DNA on Monday.
The officer said investigators are attempting to suppress the implication of the recoveries because some ‘influential’ persons are protecting those involved in the racket.
According to the officer, the knives recovered from Moninder Singh Pandher’s house were surgical implements, which may indicate the involvement of medically proficient persons in the butchery of children.
Moreover, the bodies were disposed of in a manner in which hospitals purge their waste. The bodies were neatly stored in packets and probably treated with chemicals to prevent the accumulation of bacteria and emission of foul odour.
Noida’s chief medical officer has already said that the bodies were cut up with ‘medical precision’.
The police officer told DNA that the evidence is strong enough to warrant proper investigation into the connection between the killings and an organ racket.
In fact, in 1999, the Noida police had begun investigating a suspected trade in body organs, but the inquiry was dropped after some political leaders intervened, the officer said.
The organ trade is believed to be among the biggest medical scams in the country, next only to female foeticide. “It’s all about making maximum profits,” a police officer said. “Indians have a medical history of organ failures and there is huge domestic demand for transplants. Profit margins range between Rs15 lakh and Rs25 lakh, depending upon the urgency of requirement.”
Mid-level hospitals can register profits to the tune of Rs25 crore annually through illegal organ-trade dealings. “Some hospitals are not interested in either the donor or the patient,” the source said.
Immuno-suppressants are used widely to dupe patients into believing that transplants have been carried out successfully. “Immuno-suppressants can create the impression of the organ having been accepted by the recipient’s body even when the tissue types have not matched,” said Dr Subhash Gupta, senior consultant, transplant surgery, Apollo hospital.
Organ scams are reportedly rampant in urban pockets that have a high incidence of migrant labourers. Delhi’s suburban areas, such as Noida and Ghaziabad, and parts of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh are busy sites for the trade.
“Debt-ridden slum-dwellers often fall prey to these situations,” a source said. “There is also a demand for organs from foreigners coming to India, drawn by the country’s thriving medical tourism industry.”
Fiendish precision
Knives found at Pandher’s house were surgical implements. Sources say the recovery points to the involvement of medically proficient persons in the butchery
Bodies were disposed of in a manner in which hospitals purge their waste
They were probably treated with chemicals to prevent the accumulation of bacteria and emission of foul odour
Police sources say the evidence calls for a probe
In ’99, another inquiry into organ trade in Noida was scuttled by some politicians
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