VISAKHAPATNAM: After arresting six people and sealing Sri Tirumala Hospital in Pendurthi, the city police on Sunday confirmed that the gang conducted two illegal kidney transplantations. The kingpin of the racket, Venkatesh is still at large, the police added.
City police commissioner CM Trivikram Varma said police identified that Vinaya Kumar and Vasupalli Srinivasa Rao had undergone an operation at the hospital and their kidneys were sold to recipients belonging to Chhattisgarh.
The owner of the hospital Parameswara Rao was among those arrested. The police arrested the accused after Vinay Kumar lodged a complaint on April 26, stating that middlemen had cheated him by promising Rs 8.5 lakh for kidney transplantation and paying him only Rs 2.5 lakh. As they did not take care of him properly after the procedure, Vinay’s parents had even demanded Rs 1 lakh each from the three accused.
The commissioner said the kingpin Venkatesh, who is a repeat offender, had arranged donors, recipients, clinical tests and hospital facilities for the transplantation in the case. In 2019, a case was registered against him in MR Peta police station and he had served a 40-day jail term at the time.