By Sudeshna Sarkar and Sahil Makkar, IANS
Kathmandu/New Delhi : Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of the illegal kidney transplant racket unearthed near New Delhi last month, finally ran out of luck as he was nabbed Thursday evening from a hotel in Nepal near the India border, Nepalese authorities confirmed.
The fugitive, who had fled Gurgaon in India last month after his multi-million-rupee racket spanning several countries came to light Jan 24, was arrested from the Hotel Wild Life in the Chitwan National Park in south Nepal along the border and about 60 km away from the Indian town of Raxaul.
Nepal’s Minister of State for Home Ram Kumar Chaudhary told the media that Kumar was found with huge amounts of foreign currency and bank drafts.
Earlier during the day, Bhupender Kanth Arryal, senior superintendent of police of Metropolitan Police, told IANS that a manhunt had begun for Kumar in the Kathmandu valley and possible locations where he could be hiding. He also said that the Nepal police were acting in coordination with their Indian counterparts.
Even though Nepal Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula commented on the arrest, the Chitwan police said they had no information about the development.
The Indian embassy in Kathmandu also declined to confirm the arrest. “We have seen the media reports but we do not have any such information at this moment,” said Gopal Baglay, the embassy spokesperson.
The kidney transplant racket, which served clients from Britain, the US, Greece, Lebanon, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, was busted by the police forces of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Jan 24 in Gurgaon, an emerging IT hub on the outskirts of the Indian capital.
Upendra Aggrawal, one of the key accused, was arrested from a Faridabad hotel while three other ‘doctors’ including Amit, his brother Jeewan and Saraj Kumar had been absconding.
The Indian police had suspected Amit was hiding in Nepal or Canada.
A Red Corner notice was issued against Amit alias Santosh Rameshwar Raut last week after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) approached Interpol on a request of the Haryana police.
Police forces in Moradabad and Gurgaon near New Delhi were yet to confirm the arrest.
“We have got information through media that Amit has been arrested in Nepal but we are verifying the claim,” Moradabad Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manzil Saini told IANS.
Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner of Police Rakesh Arya said: “We are trying to get details from the Nepal police.”