Guwahati: An organ transplant racket was dismantled in Assam’s Nagaon district and three traffickers were arrested, Police confirmed on Tuesday.
Nagaon Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnanil Deka said an operation carried out over the last few days unearthed the entire web of the organ transplant racket, which has been in operation for several years in the area.
According to reports, the racket was exposed after an awareness meeting on drugs and illegal liquor was organized by the ‘Village Women’s Defence Force’ in the area. During the meeting, the illicit kidney trade was brought to light.
Police arrested three individuals — Dharani Das alias Bogumula, Mahendra Das, and Deep Das alias Dopy — for their involvement in smuggling kidneys through a local brokerage network.
Investigations have revealed that two other individuals, Hazrika from Baihata Chariali in Kamrup and Daluapgu from Guwahati, are also suspected to be connected to the racket.
The illegal trade is said to have flourished in a village near Nagaon, where impoverished families struggling with alcohol addiction were allegedly coerced into selling their kidneys. “In many such families, three members out of a five-member household have already sold their kidneys,” locals reported, noting that this practice has been ongoing for years.
The kidney donors were allegedly sent to Kolkata through brokers who offered between Rs 3–3.5 lakh per kidney. However, victims have claimed they received only a fraction of the promised sum, with middlemen taking significant deductions.
Further investigations are ongoing to uncover the wider interstate connections of the racket.
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In a successful anti-narcotics operation on Monday, a team from Rupahi Police Station in Nagaon recovered 20 plastic vials and one soap box containing 16.06 grams of heroin. The operation, aimed at curbing drug trafficking in the region, led to the arrest of the accused, who is now in custody for further legal action.
