Managing Director of Bharathi Raja hospitals Dr C Natesan denied involvement of his hospitals in the racket. “Dr Ravichandran used to hire our operation theatre for surgeries and used to move his patients within a day or two. All consultations, tests and diagnosis were conducted at St Thomas Hospital with which he is associated,”he said.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were mainly approached by residents of the Gulf countries and Malaysia for transplants. The lawyer who prepared bogus documents was paid Rs 2 lakh, the surgeons got Rs 2 lakh and the agent Rs 1 lakh. Dr Ravichandran used to earn about Rs 10-15 lakh per surgery,” said Maria.

According to the police, the organ trade came to light when one of the donors duped by a Mumbai-based agent approached the police. According to the police, the agent approached Jeetu Borkar (27), employed as a helper with a catering contractor, for selling his kidney for Rs 4 lakh. He was taken to Chennai and lodged in a house used to accommodate donors.

In Chennai, Maria said, Borkar was made to sign a few bogus documents by a lawyer working for the accused. The documents testified that Borkar was a relative of a Gujarat-based woman, who was to receive his kidney, police said.

Borkar, police said, was operated upon on August 21 at the Bharathi Raja Hospital and his kidney was transplanted in a Gujarat-based woman in the same hospital. While Borkar was paid only Rs 25,000, Rs 15 lakh was charged from the recipient.

... contd.