Kidney racket kingpin, Suresh Prajapati, arrested again

Alleged kingpin Suresh Prajapati. Illustration/Uday Mohite

The arrest of a mediator, Vruchantala Nizamuddin, involved in an international kidney racket, has once again led the city police to Suresh Prajapati, the alleged kingpin of the illegal business. The Sahar police arrested Prajapati on Thursday and started investigations into the matter.

A police officer said, "After being produced before the court, he was remanded in police custody till September 15. We need to interrogate him thoroughly to establish his connections with the entire racket."

Following Nizamuddin's arrest on September 2, it was revealed that the accused used to contact the kidney donors online. The donors, who were people in dire need of money, were trapped very easily. Thereafter, they would meet Prajapati in Ahmedabad and then travel to Egypt via Mumbai. A source said, "Nizamuddin, a native of Hyderabad, told the police that he worked for Prajapati, who was based in Ahmedabad. The cops then detained him and brought him to Mumbai."

"The accused confessed to have sent 15 people to Egypt in the past one year for selling their kidneys. Most of them got in touch with him through social media. After their authenticity was verified, they were asked to meet Prajapati in Ahmedabad, where they were explained the entire process. Each kidney was sold at a price of Rs 50 lakh, depending on the patient's needs. Once the deal was finalised, the documentation was completed and the donors were sent to Egypt. One of his aides would help the donors board the aircraft from Mumbai," the source added.

Business tricks
The Hyderabad police, who had arrested Prajapati last year, had learned that a Surat-based businessman introduced him to the organ business in 2012. After that he started trafficking donors to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prajapati looked for people who would find needy donors and then offered them a job by giving them a commission of Rs 40,000 for bringing a donor to him.