ED Expands Kerala Organ Trafficking Probe, Summons Senior Doctors from Transplant Evaluation Committees
Key Insights
The Enforcement Directorate (search) has widened its money-laundering investigation into a multi-crore organ trafficking racket in Kerala, summoning senior doctors from major private hospitals.
Doctors questioned are members of internal transplant evaluation committees responsible for examining medical, ethical, and legal aspects of transplant cases before clearance.
Investigators are probing whether committee members overlooked suspicious cases, facilitated illegal transplants, or received kickbacks to fast-track approvals.
The Enforcement Directorate (search) (ED) has widened its money-laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore organ trafficking racket in Kerala, bringing senior doctors at major private multi-speciality hospitals under its investigative ambit. The development follows simultaneous raids at prominent hospitals across the state and the subsequent questioning of top administrators.
Doctors now being summoned are reportedly members of the internal transplant evaluation committees of their respective hospitals. These committees are mandated to examine the medical, ethical, and legal aspects of transplant cases before forwarding them to the government-authorised district authorisation committees for final clearance.
Among those questioned is Dr Mohammed Iqbal, a senior consultant at Lakeshore Hospital (search) in Kochi, who was summoned on Saturday, July 11. The ED had questioned Lakeshore Hospital Managing Director SK Abdulla the previous day as part of the investigation. More doctors from other institutions are expected to be summoned in the coming days.
Scrutiny of Committee Decisions and Financial Records
Investigators are probing whether committee members overlooked suspicious cases or deliberately facilitated illegal transplants. Financial records are also under scrutiny to determine if doctors received illicit payments in the form of kickbacks or commissions to fast-track approvals for surgeries.
The ED is investigating the proceeds of crime allegedly generated by the prime accused, Mohammed Najeeb Kallatra (search) of Kasaragod, through organ trafficking. Officials are examining whether hospital managements and transplant coordinators colluded with him, or whether the racket exploited systemic loopholes without their knowledge.
Forgery and Systemic Exploitation
Under organ transplant rules, donors unrelated to recipients must be cleared by a government-authorised district authorisation committee, usually functioning under a medical college. Hospitals can proceed only after receiving the committee's approval and supporting documents. Investigators have reportedly found that the racket forged medical certificates, letterheads, and even police No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to fabricate false altruistic links between donors and recipients.
Scale of the Alleged Racket
The ED's action follows the Kerala Police's busting of an alleged trafficking network that preyed on the poor and financially distressed. Police suspect at least 20 dubious transplants were carried out across hospitals under the racket's aegis, with vulnerable donors lured by money.
While recipients are believed to have paid between ₹20 lakh and ₹25 lakh for a transplant, donors reportedly received only ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, with middlemen pocketing the rest.
Najeeb, arrested by a Kerala Police team from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, is accused of coordinating the inter-district trafficking network and faces nearly a dozen criminal cases. His wife Rasheeda and several alleged associates have also been arrested for their roles in forgery and in identifying and recruiting donors from Ernakulam and Kollam districts. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered in May this year.