VISAKHAPATNAM: Intensifying its probe into the alleged kidney racket, the city police arrested five persons, including three middlemen and two others, in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the doctor who had performed the surgery.
Three accused middlemen—Kama Raju, Srinivas and Ileana—were taken into custody, even as cops questioned Parameswara Rao, owner of Sri Tirumala Hospital at Pendurthi, where the alleged kidney transplantation was performed. Sources said that two special teams were formed to trace Dr Sravanth, who performed the transplant.
One of the teams was rushed to Kakinada after it was learnt that the doctor had left for the place, confirmed sources. The police department has been looking into multiple angles to ascertain if more victims were targeted as part of the alleged racket and whether they belonged to poor and weaker sections of society.
Meanwhile, the alleged kidney racket victim G Vinay Kumar, who was earlier admitted to King George Hospital (KGH) for treatment, left the hospital against medical advice. According to KGH superintendent Ashok Kumar, the victim was referred to the hospital by the police. He had come with complaints of weakness in his limbs, vomiting and fever.
“He was admitted to the urology ward at 9 pm on Thursday. General medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and orthopaedic consultations were done. He was advised to undergo a few more medical tests,’’ the superintendent said.
“The patient left the hospital at 12.15 pm along with his relatives even after security personnel and police authorities tried stopping him. The victim was supposed to undergo an MRI test to ascertain whether he had two kidneys,’’ he added. On the other hand, the victim’s kin blamed the hospital for negligence.