Kidney racket: Court rejects bail plea

June 10, 2005

Mumbai: A sessions court today rejected the bail plea of two alleged middlemen in the kidney sale racket case, on the ground that investigations were incomplete.

Sessions judge P V Bavkar rejected the bail application of Mohammed Juber and Javed saying that investigations were not over yet and their release at this stage would not be proper.

The judge agreed with prosecutor R V Kini that there was a likelihood of the accused tampering with the evidence if granted bail.

The two accused took the defence of total denial saying they had no knowledge of the racket and had merely taken the victims to the doctor for medical help.

Kini said, "In the investigations so far, it has come to light that nearly 18 people may have fallen prey to the accused and their kidneys were removed after luring them with money. So far, the statements of only two victims have been recorded."

The police were still on the lookout for the main accused, Muktar, and also the doctors from Delhi who were involved in the racket, Kini added.

Earlier, the court had granted bail to pathologist Pravin Gujarathi and Dr S Kapadia.

According to police, Kapadia conducted 16 angiographies in one month without following proper procedure, as required under the Human Organ Transplantation Act, while Gujarathi ran a computer and diagnostic centre in south Mumbai. (Agencies)

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This article posted July 31, 2005.