Assam: Police register case after kidney trafficking racket busted in Dibrugarh

Dibrugarh Superintendent of police Shwetank Mishra said, "We have registered a case at Lahowal police station and started the investigation. Right now we cannot say much about the racket as the investigation is at a preliminary stage."

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By Avik Chakraborty

DIBRUGARH:

Dibrugarh police started the investigation process against illegal kidney racket being run in the district, after a case was registered at Lahowal police station on Thursday.


A case no 213/2021 u/s 370 was registered at Lahowal police outpost following cases being reported of organ trafficking in the tea garden areas.


Dibrugarh Superintendent of police Shwetank Mishra said, "We have registered a case at Lahowal police station and started the investigation. Right now we cannot say much about the racket as the investigation is at a preliminary stage."


Kidney traffickers are active in the tea garden areas of upper Assam and target the poor garden workers by taking advantage of their poor economic conditions. 


Recently, a case came to light, when a poor tea garden worker named Ramu Karmakar (45) from Singlijan tea estate sold one of his kidneys to an agent for an amount of Rs 3.5 lakh.


"Poverty-stricken tea garden workers have become targets of kidney traffickers or agents who closely monitor the tea garden workers and collect the details of the workers, and thereby convince them to sell their kidney. It is an organised crime and several high profile names are associated with organ trafficking," said a source.


After the matter came to light, the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) has constituted a high-level committee to investigate the matter. The team will visit the tea gardens and try to unearth the illegal racket. 


"We suspect a modus operandi in the Kidney trafficking racket at the tea garden areas. The reason being illiteracy and poverty among the tea garden workers who are exploited by unscrupulous elements. We have initiated a high-level inquiry into the incident," ACMS vice president Nabin Keot said.

ALSO READ: Assam: Kidney traffickers target poor tea garden workers in Dibrugarh

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