By IANS
New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was hopeful of progress in unravelling the kidney transplant scam as a court gave it 14-day custody of Saraj Kumar, an anaesthetist and aide of alleged kingpin Amit Kumar.
The CBI, which formally took over the case Friday, also conducted searches at the home of Linda, a nurse who once worked for Amit Kumar.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ranjana Aggarwal sent Saraj Kumar, a New Delhi-based doctor, to CBI custody.
“We had sought Saraj Kumar’s custody to bring him face to face with Amit Kumar. This will help in unravelling various facts in the illegal kidney transplant racket,” CBI counsel A.K. Singh said.
Saraj Kumar surrendered in the court Monday after eluding the police for nearly two weeks. He had been absconding from his home in the capital’s Shahdara area since Jan 24 when the police from Haryana and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh unearthed the racket operated from Gurgaon, a suburban town bordering Delhi.
Saraj Kumar, along with Amit Kumar alias Santosh Rameshwar Raut, his brother Jeewan Kumar and Upendra Aggarwal, was booked by the CBI Friday in the illegal kidney transplant racket that extended to several countries.
His custody came a day after the CBI got the custody of Aggarwal, his driver Jagdeesh and another man, Gaysuddin.
Despite Amit Kumar’s interrogation, CBI sleuths have failed to make any headway about the suspected involvement of some politicians and senior doctors in the racket.
“We are now contemplating to confront Amit Kumar with Aggarwal and Saraj Kumar, which will help in establishing the vital links in the thriving kidney trade in Gurgaon,” a senior CBI official said.
The only missing link in the chain now is Jeewan Kumar, who is yet to be traced and arrested.
Amit Kumar, a 43-year-old ayurvedic doctor, and Jeewan Kumar managed to escape after allegedly being tipped off about impending raids in Gurgaon Jan 24. Amit Kumar was finally arrested in Nepal last week and flown to India Saturday.
The CBI searched Linda’s home in Mahipalpur area in southwest Delhi. Linda, a nurse with the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here, is in judicial custody after the Gurgaon police arrested her Jan 31.
A resident of Manipur, she had worked for Amit Kumar for over a year before joining the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in mid-2006. But she continued to work for Amit on part time and was paid Rs.25,000-30,000 a month.
The CBI Tuesday formally took over the case registered by the Moradabad police.