Wanted by police in Haryana and other states, Kumar was nabbed from Hotel Wildlife Camp in Chitwan,160 km from Kathmandu, around 5 pm, hours after he checked in with an associate identified as Manish Singh, said Nepal’s Minister of State for Home Ramkumar Chaudhry.

Kumar, against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued after the racket came to light on January 24, was being brought to Kathmandu for questioning.

In New Delhi, CBI Director Vijay Shankar said they would approach the Nepalese authorities to hand him over to India.

Kumar was noticed after he cut out a news item about the kidney racket in The Himalayan Times. This aroused the suspicion of the hotel receptionist who alerted the police about his presence. He was later found carrying 145,000 dollars and a draft for 936 Euros.

Nepal media quoted sources as saying that Kumar and his associate Manish Singh checked into Room Number 6 of the Hotel Wildlife Camp around 10 am under Singh’s name.

Soon after checking in, the duo asked for a copy of The Himalayan Times which had front-paged a report on the kidney racket and about the presence of the main accused in Nepal.

The sources said that Kumar cut out the story and returned the newspaper to the reception.

They said a short while later a police team reached the hotel and began enquiring about the guests.

The policemen showed the receptionist a picture of Kumar. By then, Manish Singh fled from the hotel. The police team then rushed to the room and arrested Kumar who had been on the run ever since the kidney racket was busted on January 24.

He apparently did not resist when he was being handcuffed, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate has been asked to probe assets of Kumar. The Moradabad police, which busted the racket, have sought details of Kumar’s property, finances and other transactions.

Details of the attached properties of the other accused, Dr Jeevan Kumar and Dr Saraj, are also being probed. The police have asked the passport office to cancel all their passport registrations.

The probe will look into the over Rs 1,000-crore assets of Kumar, who is said to have conducted 500 illegal kidney transplants. Investigating officials say that a part of this wealth also came from Kumar’s foray into movies and other rackets he reportedly ran.

Kumar has acted in three Bollywood movies and had distribution rights for at least 60 movies.

“We have not got details on this thing but it may be possible,” said Prem Prakash, SSP, Moradabad. Kumar is also said to have invested his money in companies outside India.