NEW DELHI: Harpal, the driver of prime accused in the kidney transplant racket Amit Kumar, has allegedly told the Gurgaon police that some personnel of the Crime Branch of the Delhi police had detained him and a doctor working for Amit in January, but subsequently let them off following payment of “a huge sum of money”.

According to Harpal, he and Upender — the doctor who was among the first to be arrested in the case — were picked up by some people identifying themselves as Crime Branch officers from Delhi and taken to an office in New Delhi in the first week of January. They allegedly grilled the duo for a few hours and then demanded money to let them off.

Harpal in his disclosure statement to the Gurgaon police alleged that the personnel were given about Rs.18 lakh to keep the matter under wraps. Amit had come to bail them out, Harpal reportedly said. Confirming that Harpal had indeed made these sensational disclosures, Deputy Commissioner of the Gurgaon Police (West) Rakesh Arya said: “Had we been informed about the activities of the gang earlier, the entire racket would have been smashed in no time.”

The Gurgaon police, however, have not revealed the identities of those who according to Harpal were from the Crime Branch.

The three-storey Gurgaon Sector 23 building where the transplant operations were performed clandestinely had earlier been sealed by the Delhi police in connection with a similar case way back in 2000. However, the Gurgaon police said the premises were not sealed properly and the exercise was a mere eyewash, giving the gang an opportunity to continue with their operations. The Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police have reportedly identified some more people involved in the illegal kidney transplant racket and are conducting raids to trace them.

It has also come to light that the main accused had invested money in hospitals in Europe and Gulf countries and had also acted in and produced ‘B’ and ‘C’ grade Hindi movies. The police have also come across evidence revealing Amit’s links with politicians.