By Amjad Yousafzai
TAXILA: The Taxila Police on Monday unearthed a gang that was involved in ‘depriving’ people of their kidneys and selling them to the sick patients at a high price. Six people including doctor and nurse was also arrested red handed during raid, Police sources said.
Police sources said that acting on a tip off, a police party led by station house officer Sub Inspector Sarmad Ilyas along with Human Organ Transplant Agency (HOTA) staff raided at a rented house located in multi garden housing society which was utilized as mini-operation theatre and found an operation of kidney transplant was carried out. Shahid Ali- a native of Lahore kidney was illegally transplanted to Baseer Khan- native of Peshawar under dark deal.
Police arrested six persons red handed including notorious transplant expert Dr Fawad Mumtaz, nurse Sobia Ismail, paramedical staff Muhamad Husnain and Muhammad Shareef. Police sources said 9 other facilitators including a Peshawar based anesthetist, a female nurse, a medicine supplier and two of them brokers managed to escape from scene successfully. Sources said that a case was registered against the accused under section 334 and 337-R of Pakistan Penal code (PPC) as section 3,4,9 and 10 transplantation of human organs and tissues act 2010 and launched further investigation.
Mr Sarmad Ilyas shared that it was an organized criminal operation, in which at least two doctors including an anesthetist were also involved. The suspected organ harvesters would reportedly lure victims, largely the desperately poor, by offering them high monetary benefits. He said that the racket was well organized as from doctors to medicine suppliers were in gloves while the members were belongs to all parts of the country from Lahore, Jhang, Peshawar, Chinot, Karachi and Quetta. Responding a question, he said that both the donor and receiver were shifted to Benazir Bhutto hospital Rawalpindi for medical treatment.