Mumbai police will now question Gurgaon suspects

Similar modus operandi was used in both cases

The city crime branch will interrogate the five people arrested in the Gurgoan kidney scam to find out the extent of the racket in Mumbai.

The move was prompted following the finding that the modus operandi adopted by the suspects was same in Gurgaon as well as Mumbai.

According to the police, Dr Santosh Raut alias Amit Kumar - who jumped bail after his arrest in Mumbai in 1994 - is the common link, as he was the mastermind in both Gurgaon and Mumbai scams.

“We might question the Gurgaon suspects in the 1994 case, as Raut was the mastermind in that case too. We will verify whether any of the arrested were involved in the Mumbai case,” said deputy commissioner of police (detection), Deven Bharti.
Bharti added that the city crime branch team, which was still in Gurgaon, is trying to find out whether there is any Mumbai or Maharashtra-based victims who were conned by the racketeers.

According to joint commissioner of police (crime), Rakesh Maria, Raut was arrested and chargesheeted in the kidney racket. But in 1994, he was released on bail and has been absconding since.

“The case is still going on in the court. We will seek cancellation of his bail, so that the 1994 case comes to its logical conclusion,” said Maria. Raut, who is originally from Nagpur, had set up his base in the Khar area. He was also wanted another kidney racket case in Mumbai.

s_somendranath@dnaindia.net