Gang involved in illegal kidney transplantation arrested

LAHORE: Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday announced that the Lahore police have arrested the gang including its leader involved in illegal kidney transplantation, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference, the caretaker chief minister announced that the police team arresting the gang would be awarded Rs500,000. He further informed that Doctor Fawad Mukhtar and all persons of his gang have been apprehended.

Punjab CM claimed that Dr Fawad Mukhtar by unlawfully stealing, duping and grabbing money extracted 328 people’s kidneys and performed transplant.

The CM said the assistant of Dr Fawad gang doing operations was basically a motor mechanic and the same motor mechanic used to perform duties of administering anaesthesia to the people.

He further said the gang was more active in Lahore, Taxila and Azad Kashmir and used to perform kidney transplantation at homes instead of operation theaters. “They [the gang] used to extort Rs3 million from Pakistani patients while Rs10 million from the patients coming from abroad,” he added.

Mohsin Naqvi apprised that the accused has confessed to perform 328 operations and this number could exceed as well.

“Money was extorted from a patient in Jinnah Hospital and later by committing fraud his healthy kidney was extracted. When that patient went to another doctor then he came to know that his one kidney is missing,” he noted.

The CM also said the accused Dr Fawad Mukhtar had been arrested five times and used to commit the same notorious crime every time after getting released. He said Chief Secretary and his team was working and the prosecution has been directed to submit a strong challan. The police team conniving the release of Doctor Fawad has been suspended.

To a query, Naqvi said that the Healthcare Commission would have to become fully proactive, adding “laws are in place and we do not have any scope of making change. We will make the rules more effective to the maximum possible extent”.

There was a dire need of implementation in the presence of laws, he said.

CM revealed that people had to face inconvenience in PHOTA (Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority), adding that the proposal to make PHOTA one window would be reviewed. Naqvi informed that the death of three patients has been confirmed due to the accused operations. He said two main culprits of eye injection scandal have been arrested.

“We are waiting for the report and no injustice will be committed to anyone in haste” he said. CM apprised that few parts of cyber law have reached to us, adding that the police and relevant institutions have been activated so that people could be provided relief with regard to cyber crimes.