Hyderabad: Dr Raj Shekar Perumal, a surgeon from Tamil Nadu and the primary suspect in an interstate kidney trafficking case, was arrested in Chennai by police teams. He was brought before the LB Nagar Court and remanded to judicial custody on Monday. In addition, the police have filed a petition for the custody of two key accused, Dr. Siddamshetty Avinash and Dr. Guntupally Sumanth. Authorities are also preparing lookout notices for another suspect, Pavan, who fled to Sri Lanka.
Raj Shekar, a native of Tamil Nadu, was reportedly recruited by Pavan for the racket. As and when Pavan informs Raj Shekar about surgery, he flies to the city, performs the surgery and takes his fee only in cash. Pavan is believed to be in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the police are working to issue lookout notices for him at airports across India. Initially, Sri Lanka was the base for illegal kidney transplants, but the racket was moved to Hyderabad due to visa issues.
Pavan has been coordinating the surgeries, arranging doctors, medical assistants and targeting hospitals with low-profit margins, like Janani Hospital. On the other hand, they also set up Arunashree Hospital and Alakananda Hospital solely for illegal kidney transplantation and were given cover as multi-specialty hospitals.
Rachakonda Commissioner Sudheer Babu stated that 20 surgeries were performed at Alakananda Hospital. Meanwhile, Janani and Arunashree hospitals in Saidabad have yet to be inspected, and the investigation into the donors and recipients remains ongoing. Authorities suspect that, like Alakananda, these hospitals likely have no records of the procedures.
In addition, the Saroornagar police and SOT teams are searching for Laxman and Purna, who allegedly arranged the donors and recipients, exploiting vulnerable individuals. Another surgeon, Dr Sohib from Jammu and Kashmir, is also on the run.
