Two senior Apollo doctors questioned in kidney racket
NEW DELHI: Two senior doctors of south Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital joined the police probe into the kidney racket on Tuesday, even as a parallel investigation by the Delhi government is at a standstill for want of access to documents.
“The enquiry could not be completed because all the documents pertaining to the case are with the police and they refused to share it,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain.
The police, however, rejected the allegation and said it was not legally possible to share case property.
“Documents related to the case cannot be shared with any agency as they have been seized as case property and can be produced only in the concerned court. Also, our investigation is still not over,” a senior police officer said:
Thirteen people, including racket’s kingpin T Rajkumar Rao, two personal staff of a senior nephrologist of Apollo hospital, donors and a beneficiary, have been arrested in the case.
“The doctors arrived around 5 pm and their questioning continued till late in the night. They were questioned about their role in the entire racket as most of the transplants were done under their supervision. The SIT had prepared a questionnaire and the doctors were asked to answer the questions,” said the officer.
“We will verify their replies with disclosures made against them by their arrested personal staff and other racketeers,” the officer added.
Apollo Hospital issued a press statement later in the evening.
“Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited (Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals) has been a victim of a wellorchestrated operation carried out by a few individuals with malafide intent who deliberately committed forgery and fraud. The matter is under investigation by the Delhi Police and as in the past, the hospital continues to extend full cooperation to the investigating team. Additionally, we have advised the doctor, who has been asked to join the investigation, to extend full cooperation with the police. The hospital reiterates that it has the highest regard for the law and its processes and urges the Delhi Police to take their investigation to its logical conclusion,” the press statement said.
The Delhi government had constituted a five-member committee in the first week of June to probe the allegations of illegal organ trade. The committee was supposed to hand-in an interim report in a week and the final report within 15 days. The committee was supposed to look into irregularities in donation of kidneys and the approval protocols and identify gaps, if any.