Kanpur police have cracked a major illegal kidney transplant racket operating across multiple private hospitals in the city, arresting five doctors and launching a manhunt for four others believed to be the masterminds. Authorities allege that the network carried out 40–50 unauthorized kidney transplants, including on foreign nationals.

The racket came to light after a donor, Ayush, an MBA student from Samastipur, Bihar, reported that he had been cheated of Rs 10 lakh, promised in exchange for one of his kidneys. Police investigations revealed that the accused had allegedly bought kidneys for Rs 10 lakh and sold them for Rs 60 lakh, highlighting the massive profit margins involved.

Police and the health department conducted late-night raids across three facilities in the Kalyanpur area—Ahuja Hospital, Priya Hospital, and Med Life Hospital. The raids led to the arrests of Dr. Surjit Singh Ahuja (owner of Ahuja Hospital), his wife Dr. Preeti Ahuja, Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Dr. Ram Prakash, Dr. Narendra Singh, and a recruiter, Shivam Agarwal. Med Life Hospital, operating without legal registration, has been sealed, and Rs 1.75 lakh along with banned life-saving drugs were seized.

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Authorities said the racket may have connections in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and even Nepal, suggesting a wide network of illegal organ trading. Those still at large include Dr. Afzal (patient counselor), Dr. Rohit, and Vaibhav Anurag from the surgical team. Administrative proceedings to cancel the registrations of Ahuja and Priya Hospitals are underway, according to Chief Medical Officer Hari Dutt Nemi.

Police Commissioner Raghuveer Lal confirmed that both victims and patients were rescued during the probe. Social media platforms, including Telegram, were reportedly used by the recruiter to lure economically vulnerable youth into the illegal scheme. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to apprehend the remaining suspects and dismantle the network.

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