The kidney selling racket has once again surfaced in Nadiad town - the hub of kidney transplantation in Gujarat - with the arrest of a civil engineer from Andhra Pradesh. The accused, identified as Raju Padmsali who was once a donor of kidney, was nabbed by the Special Operations Group of the local police on Wednesday.

Padmasali, according to investigators, took the illegal route due to financial crisis.

He is from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh and had settled in Bilimora in south Gujarat with his wife and two daughters. “As he was facing acute financial problems, he decided to sell off his kidney for Rs 90,000 at Nadiad in 2001. After he lost all the money earned through this, he took the road of kidney trade,” said SOG sub-inspector P B Rojiya, adding that over 10 people are involved in the racket. “We suspect the racket has links not only in Gujarat, but outside also… involvement of bigger criminals cannot be ruled out,” he added.

“Padmsali even sold his wife’s kidney. After he came to Nadiad, he realised there are many buyers and at the same time there are many who can go to any extent to make money,” Rojiya said. He added that the accused was earning anything from Rs 90,000 and more, depending on the circumstances and urgency of the donors and receivers. He had approached one Suresh Patel, who was at a hospital located on Alembic Road in Vadodara, and offered him kidney transplantation for Rs 3 lakh, according to Rojiya.

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