NEW DELHI — Indian detectives investigating a multi-million dollar illegal kidney transplant racket have arrested the brother and alleged accomplice of the main suspect in the case, a police spokesman said Monday.
The scam was uncovered last month in the wealthy New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon when one of hundreds of unemployed victims, who was allegedly tricked into giving up his kidney, lodged a complaint with police.
An alert by the global police body Interpol led to the arrest in Nepal earlier this month of Amit Kumar, while his brother Jeewan Rawat was detained in New Delhi on Sunday, federal police spokesman G. Mohanty told AFP.
A court remanded Rawat in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody until February 29 for questioning, Mohanty said.
Rawat's detention comes as Delhi police are also probing some of their own officers for allegedly taking bribes while the illegal kidney business was in full swing.
One senior policeman has been arrested and six others were being sought, with press reports saying they had accepted two million rupees (50,000 dollars) in bribes from Kumar.
Dubbed "Doctor Horror" by Indian newspapers, Kumar is said to have made millions of dollars by selling hundreds of kidneys to wealthy Indians and foreigners for transplant.
He has been charged with causing grievous hurt with a weapon, wrongful confinement and fraud for allegedly luring or forcing hundreds of poor people to give up their organs.
Live kidney transplants are allowed in India only if the organ is donated by a blood relative or spouse, or if there is a swap agreement between two needy families. All transplants must be cleared by the government.
But a huge gap in demand and poor availability of kidneys from dead donors has led to a thriving underground business.