NEW DELHI — Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin in the kidney scam, was remanded yesterday to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody until Feb. 22. Kumar, 40, who was arrested in Nepal on Thursday, was handed over to Indian authorities on Saturday evening. He was produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjeev Jain yesterday amid tight security.
The CBI sought Kumar’s remand, arguing that his interrogation was necessary to unravel the national and international reach of the recently exposed kidney scam. The CBI has charged Kumar under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon), 342 (wrongful confinement), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). He also faces charges under Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994. If convicted, Kumar faces jail for up to 10 years.
Kumar was arrested after a two-week international hunt in Nepal by the local police from a jungle resort at Chitwan near the Indian border on Thursday. Nepalese police reportedly interrogated Kumar for around 35 hours.
Kumar reportedly confessed conducting over 300 kidney transplants in India. He “admitted” charging between 300,000 rupees and 400,000 rupees ($10,090) from rich clients for each operation. Kumar also “confessed” to looking for hospitals in Nepal.
However, Dr. Horror, as he has been dubbed by the media in India, also claimed not to be a kidney dealer and said he had not committed any crime.
On the amount of money found on him by the Nepalese police, Kumar reportedly said that he earned it through legal transplants. Police seized from his possession 145,000 euros, $18,900 and an Indian bank draft for 936,000 rupees.
In a statement to the Nepalese police he denied transplanting kidneys for money and said he had done nothing wrong during his surgeries at the Star Max Life Care Hospital in Gurgaon, Haryana. “I have been running the hospital for 15 years. Doing kidney transplants is my main business,” he told the police. With his ring inviting patients from the United States, Canada and European countries, he claimed to have conducted over 3,000 transplants.
Several fake documents found on him indicated he was trying to acquire Nepalese citizenship. He also had another passport, which he apparently intended to use to fly to Canada and join his family.
Kumar allegedly offered the Nepalese police bribe in exchange for escape. He was quoted by the Nepalese media as telling the arresting officers: “I will give you 2,000,000 rupees if you let me go.”
Soon after his arrest, the CBI got into action here, urging the External Affairs Ministry to seek his deportation. Surprisingly, the Nepalese authorities promptly responded to India’s request for Kumar’s deportation. Appreciating their cooperation, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: “They have extended cooperation. We deeply appreciate that.”
The CBI also praised Nepalese authorities for their “exceptional cooperation in the deportation of this fugitive criminal.”
Kumar was to have been produced in a Nepalese court yesterday. However, Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s last minute intervention led to his being handed over to Indian authorities on Saturday.
