KOCHI: Alleged organ-racket kingpin Najeeb was remanded by the Kolenchery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Monday, as detailed questioning by the special investigation team (SIT) of Ernakulam Rural police revealed what sleuths suspect to be a large network facilitating illegal organ donations through forged documents and deals worth several lakhs.
Police said Najeeb, who was arrested from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, is an accused in nearly 12 criminal cases, including the 2017 Mangalapuram goonda gang murder case. Sources said he allegedly arranged illegal organ donations for amounts ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
“Najeeb and his associates acted as middlemen. The network allegedly charged between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh from recipients for arranging donors and completing procedures linked to transplantation,” sources said.
Investigators suspect donors were allegedly promised around Rs 10 lakh, while the remaining amount was allegedly shared within the network for arranging medical tests, forged documents and other procedures. Sources said the racket allegedly earned around Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh during the process of identifying and medically screening suitable donors before transplantation procedures were carried out.
Police said the probe has uncovered a sophisticated forgery network allegedly used to facilitate illegal organ donations in Kerala and outside.
“Many of the documents appeared so convincing that even medical professionals initially found it difficult to identify them as fake,” a senior police officer said. “Doctors who examined the records told the investigation team that the papers closely resembled genuine documents normally submitted during organ-donation procedures,” the officer added.
According to investigators, the racket allegedly relied on fabricated relationship certificates and supporting documents to bypass legal provisions permitting organ donations mainly between close relatives. Officials suspect forged identity and kinship records were used to make unrelated donors appear legally eligible for transplantation.
Investigators are further verifying claims related to Najeeb’s foreign travel under the guise of medical tourism and suspect that vulnerable people from different districts may have been exploited through the network.
So far, five people have been arrested in connection with the case. Ernakulam Rural police chief K S Sudarshan said three FIRs related to the racket have been registered in the district.