The Tamil Nadu health department has initiated a formal inquiry into a private hospital in Trichy, days after Maharashtra police identified its managing director as a prime suspect in a sprawling, alleged pan-India illegal kidney trafficking network.
Health Team Finds Hospital Nearly Empty
Acting on orders from the directorate of medical services, a team led by Joint Director Gopinath visited Star KIMS Hospital in Trichy on Friday morning. The visit aimed to scrutinize records following serious accusations by the Maharashtra police. However, the officials encountered a nearly deserted facility.
The inquiry team could not locate Dr. G. Rajaratnam, the hospital's managing director, who is allegedly at the center of the case. Only a handful of staff members and one patient, recovering from a liver transplant, were present. The team collected the details of this patient but faced significant hurdles in accessing crucial documents.
Officials Cite Previous Clean Chit, Seek More Time
Joint Director Gopinath revealed that a case with similar names had surfaced approximately six months prior. At that time, a thorough examination of all case sheets, donor registries, and transplant records did not yield the names mentioned by the Maharashtra police. "It is possible that there could have been an illegal register, but this was our observation," Gopinath stated.
Due to the inability to access documents or key personnel during Friday's visit, officials have been granted another week to conduct a comprehensive inquiry. "We have communicated to the collector and he has asked us to take another week to inquire," Gopinath added, while remaining tight-lipped about the current status of the investigation.
Cross-State Coordination in the Kidney Racket Probe
The investigation stems from claims by the Maharashtra police, who allege that several illegal kidney transplant surgeries were performed at the Trichy hospital. According to their findings, Dr. Rajaratnam played a pivotal role in identifying donors through a network of intermediaries, brokers, and fake doctors involved in the illicit trade.
These allegations emerged after the interrogation of arrested individuals in Maharashtra, who confessed to surgeries being conducted at Star KIMS Hospital. A few days ago, a team from Maharashtra police arrived in Trichy and raided the hospital but were instructed by local district police to follow proper jurisdictional procedures.
Echoing the statements of Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar from Thursday, Health Minister Ma Subramaniam confirmed that while a local inquiry is underway, the state government has also formally requested more detailed information about the nature of the crimes from the Maharashtra government to aid the investigation.
