By IANS
New Delhi : The following is the chronology of events in the kidney racket that was unearthed two weeks ago and whose kingpin Amit Kumar was arrested in Kathmandu Thursday:
Jan 24: Police teams of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh jointly swoop down a residential building and a guesthouse allegedly owned by Amit Kumar alias Santosh Rameshwar Raut in a plush area of Gurgaon, an emerging IT hub on the outskirts of national capital.
Jan 24: The Moradabad police arrest doctor Upendra Aggarwal, a key accused in the scam, from a Palwal hotel in Faridabad area, while the Gurgaon police arrest four agents identified as Pappu, Nosad, Gayasu Deen (residents of Meerut) and Jagdish of Ballabhgarh – from Amit’s residence-cum-hospital in Gurgaon’s Sector 23.
Jan 24: Police rescue five people – identified as Sakil of Ghaziabad, Vasim of Ahmedabad, Salim of Kotwali and Ajay and Sanjay Kumar of Meerut from the Gurgaon hospital.
Jan 25: Gurgaon police detain five foreigners, Joy Mehtal, 53, his wife Sonam Joy, 52, a US-based NRI couple, and three Greek citizens Leonida Dayasi, 56, Leonidas Dayasi, 63, and Heleni Kitcocy, 53, in the guesthouse. Joy Mehtal and Heleni Kitcocy were patients and the others were accompanying them.
Jan 25: Gurgaon police chief Mahender Lal reveals that the accused were involved in 600 illegal kidneys transplants.
Jan 25: Lal reveals that Amit Kumar and his brother Jeewan Kumar, Upendra Aggarwal (physician) and Saraj Kumar (anaesthesiologist) – had been arrested thrice earlier on the charges of illegal human organ transplants in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra but were let off on bail.
Jan 26: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
Jan 28: IMA sets up a three-member committee to probe the matter.
Jan 28: Gurgaon police uncover two more hospitals and 10 laboratories in the national capital region (NCR) allegedly involved in the racket. Mohit Hospital in Greater Noida and another hospital in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh are raided.
Jan 28: Eight luxury cars that ferried the patients are seized. Lal said eight bank accounts where the doctors and their assistants stashed away their earnings were identified. The roots of network were found to extend to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.
Jan 29: Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss seeks a CBI probe and calls for amendment in the organ transplant law. Gurgaon police detain the wife and in-laws of Jeewan Kumar and write to the authorities for issuance of an Interpol red corner notice against Jeewan Kumar and Amit. Police reveal the brothers were not qualified doctors to perform surgeries.
Jan 29: Income tax and drug authorities swing into action, conducting raids at the Sector 23 Palam Vihar residence where the accused clandestinely carried out kidney transplantations on Indian and international clients.
Jan 30: Gurgaon police arrest Pooja, wife of Jeewan Kumar, and Amit’s driver Umesh on charges of criminal conspiracy and helping the accused in running the racket. Police for the first time admit the accused were tipped-off about their possible arrest.
Jan 31: Gurgaon police arrest four people, including nurse Linda, two cooks and a driver. The Moradabad police conduct searches at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and Batra hospital, but both deny any involvement.
Feb 1: An Interpol alert sounded against Amit and Jeewan. The Moradabad police reveal mobster Chhota Shakeel threatened Amit. Police say Amit acted in three B-grade Bollywood flicks and even produced several such films. The Haryana government recommends a CBI probe.
Feb 2: Aggarwal reveals that a politician from Haryana had inaugurated Amit’s Gurgaon hospital Jan 26, 1997. Gurgaon police arrest an Alwar-based doctor K.K. Aggarwal for his links in racket. Police also arrest nurse Rebecca, an accomplice of Amit.
Feb 4: Gurgaon police blame Delhi counterparts for letting off the kidney kingpin accused after taking a hefty bribe.
Feb 7: Faridabad police books Upendra Aggarwal for the deaths of three Turkish nationals in his Ballabhgarh hospital.
Feb 7: Nepal police arrested Amit from a hotel near the Indian border.