Victims on what happens next with illegal donors trapped by kidney racketeers

The only thing of value remaining that I could sell was one of my kidneysrdquo a debtridden 28yearold from Madhya Pradesh told midday while shedding light on the exploitative tactics of illegal organ traders Not only was the youth cheated but he was also held captive until his wife also parted with a kidney After detailing how the poor are coerced into parting with organs for bargainbasement rates the second part of our series explains what happens once an illegal donor is trappedThe donorrsquos 23yearold wife who suffered from an infection after her surgeryDespite their ordeal the couple believe they are in no position to approach the authorities as their Aadhaar cards were altered by the racketeers before they went under the knife According to the victims the racket is being carried out discreetly in Mumbai Kolkata Delhi Bengaluru and Hyderabad as well as Tier2 cities and agents operate outside their home states on a commission basislsquoWoman posing as wife gave consent for operationrsquoIllegal donor AA commerce graduate the man has been struggling to get by ever since he lost his job as a security supervisor in Borivali a few years ago Initially he resided in Malad but now he lives with his wife in an adjacent districtIllegal donor A told midday that he got the idea to sell a kidney to repay his familyrsquos loans when accompanying an acquaintance suffering from renal issues to the hospital for dialysisldquoI saw a Facebook post where someone was looking out for a B blood donor I replied via Facebook Messenger and an agent Riya Tiwari told me to come to Kolkatardquo he saidPromised Rs 7 lakh donor A reached Kolkata on February 5 2023 ldquoI landed at Howrah railway station and travelled to Bara Bazar I reached a 3BHK flat where more than 15 people were stayingrdquo he recalledThe surgical scar of the woman who was promised R5 lakh for her kidneyldquoOne Jayesh Patel was in charge of this setup He would give Rs 30 daily to each person for tea and paan masala Donors are provided with rations at the flat but have to do chores themselvesrdquo he addedldquoA few days later I met one Wasim Akram a native of Biharrsquos Gaya district He interviewed me on February 7 and gave me R1500 in cash for travelling He took my Aadhaar and PAN cards and passportrdquo he addedldquoA recipient Ranjana Tiwari 38 and her husband Sanjay came to Kolkata on March 20 The woman whose blood group is B needed a kidney transplant I was told that the couple was from Bodh Gayardquo he saidAadhaar details changedOn March 25 the illegal donor was taken by Akramrsquos close confidant Heera to a PSU bank in Bara Bazar to have his Aadhaar card altered ldquoHeera had handed me a bogus letter which bore a stamp of the magistrate of Sherghati a town in Bihar In it I was identified as Uday Yadavrdquo he addedA 28yearold cashstrapped donor from Madhya Pradesh who was cheated by the racketeersldquoThis letter was submitted at the bank where a person apparently from the UIDAI Unique Identification Authority of India took my fingerprint and changed my name date of birth and addressrdquo he addedOnce his identity was changed the racketrsquos foot soldiers insisted that illegal donor A memorise the name date of birth and hometown mentioned on his altered Aadhaar cardldquoRehearsals where I introduced myself as Uday Yadav took place for almost a week under the close observation of Heera and Patelrdquo illegal donor A saidMedical tests at hospitalThe youth said he was taken to Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Kadapara Kolkata on April 1 ldquoThe racketeers told me to meet Ranjanarsquos nephrologist who interviewed me to check if I introduced myself as per the details mentioned in my altered Aadhaar cardrdquo he addedldquoThe nephrologist asked me how I was connected to the recipient Since I was tutored I told him that I was emotionally attached to Ranjana as her father was my teacher When the nephrologist asked me if I was donating my kidney for money I denied itrdquo he addedAfter completing a few medical tests Illegal donor A was sent for a DTPA diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid scanmdashby which kidney function is evaluatedmdashon April 4 ldquoI showed the report to the nephrologist on April 6rdquo he added The nephrologist then referred the youth to a cardiologist psychiatrist dentist and kidney surgeon at the same hospitalWhen midday contacted Dr Sangita Reddy JMD of Apollo Hospitals Group inquiring about the hospitalrsquos alleged link to the racket she said ldquoFirstly we are not aware about any such racket Secondly they racketeers would be using the name of the hospital to commit the crime You can talk with the CEO for the samerdquoScreenshots of a conversation in a Telegram group where agents and donors interactIn a subsequent statement a hospital spokesperson said ldquoWe categorically deny the allegations concerning organ trafficking We strictly adhere to all legal and regulatory protocols All procedures at our hospital are conducted in full compliance with the relevant lawsrdquoThe racketeers had also presented one Reena Yadav as Illegal donor Arsquos wife When the kidney surgeon asked Reena if she had any objection to her purported husbandrsquos decision to donate a kidney she raised none ldquoMy actual wife had accompanied me to Kolkata but she was kept on the sidelinesrdquo said illegal donor AHe added that the racketeers had meticulously manipulated photos digitally to portray Reena and Uday Yadav as a couple during a board meeting at the hospital ldquoThey even had a bogus marriage certificate I was even photoshopped into photos of a function attended by Ranjanarsquos the recipient familyrdquo he saidldquoAt the meeting attended by senior doctors I was videotaped by someone called Taniya In the video I was asked to declare lsquoI Uday Kumar will be donating my left kidney in full consciousness without the involvement of any moneyrsquo She Taniya saved the video as evidence in case of any complaintrdquo he addedldquoLater I was taken to a local court in Alipur to sign documents on stamp paper which I wasnt allowed to read They then took me to the district magistratersquos office and submitted the papers The DM saw the document and returned it to the racketeersrdquo he saidVisited mastermindrsquos villageA week later the fake couple and the Tiwaris were taken to Gaya in an airconditioned sleeper bus from Kolkata ldquoWe reached Imamganj the village of Akram the apparent mastermindrdquo he addedldquoAfter freshening up my bogus wife and I were produced before a magistrate with form 20 verification certificate in respect of domicile status of recipient or donorrdquo he addedOnce the work at Imamganj was over the team returned to Kolkata along with the illegal donor and his lsquowifersquo The Tiwaris arrived 20 days laterIllegal donor A said ldquoOn May 19 the Tiwaris Reena and I were taken to the health department where the officials checked our identities The department did not approve the transplant because of some error in Reenarsquos documents Her Aadhaar card still carried her original namemdashZarina Khatoon She is the wife of Akramrsquos manager ShakeelrdquoldquoBut a day later Heera got Zarinarsquos Aadhaar card altered in the name of Reena Yadavrdquo he addedThe racketeers only get the name date of birth and address changed on original Aadhaar cards the card number is unalteredldquoOnce Reenarsquos Aadhaar card was altered we were taken to the health department to seek an NOC noobjection certificate for the transplantrdquo he addedldquoOn June 29 the state health department issued an NOC and sent the documents directly to Apollo Hospitalrdquo he saidldquoOn July 1 Sanjay Tiwari met both the surgeon and nephrologist at the hospital The matching of blood was done on August 18rdquo he addedldquoOn August 24 Ranjana Tiwari was admitted to the hospital for surgery and a day later I got admitted My left kidney was removed on August 27 and a couple of days later I was discharged My kidney was transplanted into Ranjanarsquos body Later I learnt that she did not surviverdquo illegal donor A saidIllegal donor A returned to the flat after the procedure and Akram dropped in on August 30 ldquoI was promised Rs 7 lakh but Wasim gave me only Rs 15 lakhrdquo he saidlsquoActual wife was operated upon against her willrsquoIllegal donor BAkram coerced illegal donor Arsquos 23yearold wife into donating one of her kidneys if she wanted her husband to be paid the remaining Rs 55 lakh She also was promised Rs 5 lakh for her kidneyldquoMy wife went under the knife against her will In a bid to facilitate the surgery her Aadhaar card too was altered My wifersquos name was changed to Nirmala Devi and a fake husband Santosh Yadav was produced before the authoritiesrdquo he addedldquoThe recipient had come from Jhansi My wife was admitted to the same hospital on February 9 and underwent surgery on February 11 Like me she was also discharged two days after the procedurerdquo he addedldquoUnlike me my wife received the amount she was promised After threatening to go to the police I eventually got R355 lakh We left Kolkata on February 22rdquo he addedHealth woesThe couple who are unemployed has been facing health and financial issues ldquoThere were blood clots in my legs so I had to spend money on treatment I am scared for my liferdquo he saidldquoNow I cant get a job as my identity has been completely changed I am worried if I will ever be able to restore it If I approach the UIDAI I will be booked for forgery I am depressed and unsure what to dordquo he saidThe 28yearold added ldquoIt is an enormous interstate racket in which criminals doctors hospital staffers government officials and others are involved but law enforcement agencies are mute spectatorsrdquoMeanwhile his wife said ldquoI suffered for two months due to a skin infection after the surgery I am okay now but cant lift heavy weights Also the doctor suggested that shouldnrsquot get pregnant for at least three years as my child and I would be affectedrdquoOfficial SpeakWhen midday briefed the Minister of State Health and Family Welfare West Bengal Chandrima Bhattarcharya about the alleged racket over the phone she said ldquoYou can take particulars from wherever you want I do not know You can have your investigations done I donrsquot have to say either against or in favour because I do not know anything Why are you entangling me in thisrdquoShe added ldquoThe MoS has no connection with this matter Have you talked to all other statesrsquo ministers of state while conducting panIndia investigations Why only merdquo Informed that illegal activities were allegedly happening at a Kolkata hospital she said ldquoThis might be happening in our state I do not support any illegal activity Why should I tell you if we will take any action or not Why should I reply to your questions I do not understand Please do not quote merdquoView this post on InstagramA post shared by midday middayindiaAsked if action would be taken against the racketeers she said ldquoHow can I say anything without knowing the facts If anybody has done anything wrong that will take its own course Why do you ask me to comment on that And you have the courage to say that you will take my name quote merdquoAsked if the Kolkata police had received complaints regarding the alleged racket at Apollo Hospital in Kolkatarsquos Phoolbagan area the commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma said he had recently taken charge ldquoI joined a few days back and I have not gone through the documents yet But if we find anything amiss we will take necessary action We will check if we have received any complaint in this regardrdquo he saidRs 7LAmount promised to illegal donor midday spoke to