Kidney racket: Gujarat HC stops police from probing charges under organ transplantation laws

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court on Tuesday quashed the complaint lodged by Anand police under the provisions of Transplant of Human Organs & Tissues Act (THOA) in connection with the

Pandoli kidney racket

.

The HC, however, has permitted local police to go ahead with investigation in connection with the IPC charges on basis of the FIR.

This happened after petitioner

Jeevan Raut

, brother of Pandoli kidney racket accused and an absconder Dr Santosh alias Amit Raut, challenged the legality of probe conducted by Anand police in the scam. The HC accepted arguments put forth by Raut’s advocate

Chetan Pandya

that the Centre and the state governments are mandated to appoint an authority under THOA to probe the cases registered under this law. Section 13 of THOA clearly says that the charges leveled under this act are to be probed by appropriate authority. The advocate further argued that the Supreme Court in 2009 made it clear that police officials are not entitled to probe the offences registered under THOA.

Raut approached the court seeking quashing of the investigation after police authority allegedly started building pressure on him during the probe. He has also urged the court to restrain cops from harassing him because his name did not figure in the FIR as well as in the chargesheet.

In March last year, Anand police busted the alleged kidney racket in the nearby Pandoli village. This happened after 27-year old resident of the village, Amir malik, filed a complaint that his kidney was extracted without his knowledge at a Delhi hospital.

Amit Raut was termed a "quack" by a

Panchkula court

in 2013 which convicted him to seven-year imprisonment. He was granted bail in 2015. After being released on bail a year later, Raut reportedly shifted his base to Gurgaon, from where he has been alleged to have lured poor villagers of Pandoli to extract their kidneys.

After his arrest, Amit Raut was being brought from Delhi to Anand for production in court under police escort. While they were travelling by Swarna Jayanti train, the Ayurvedic doctor escaped from the police.