Five persons arrested for trafficking people to India to sell their kidneys
KATHMANDU, JULY 17
Police have arrested five people on the charge of luring homeless people living around Kathmandu valley and trafficking them to foreign countries with the motive of selling their kidneys to prospective buyers.
Of the arrestees are Dhupendra Shahi, 28, and Bimal Bahadur Shahi, 32, both of Dailekh district currently residing in Kalopul of Kathmandu, Aashish Tamang, 21, of Jhapa district currently living in Thimi of Bhaktapur, Bijay Kunwar, 31, of Gulmi currently living in Gausala of Kathmandu and Dhan Bahadur Roka, 28, also known as Bidhan, and Himal Shrestha.
They have been accused of trafficking homeless people aged 19 to 32 years for the purpose of illegally extracting kidneys from the victims' body and selling them in Calcutta of India.
Acting on a tip off, the Anti Human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police first arrested three of the accused - the Shahi duo and Kunwar - from different places of Kathmandu on June 29. A few days later, the mastermind behind the scheme Dhan Bahadur Roka and Aashish Tamang were arrested after the arrest of the three persons. Roka and Tamang were designated to traffic victims to India, extract their kidney and bring them back, while three others were designated for searching for the right candidates who would agree to sell their kidneys.
It has been revealed that Roka and Tamang had previously sold one of their own kidneys to buyers in India and later turned out to become smugglers of the same racket. Police said Roka and Tamang had used people like those arrested earlier to influence street and homeless people into selling one of their kidneys. Police say rich people often pay hefty amounts up to Rs 10 million to get the kidney that suits their body, but the victims who sell their kidney receive up to Rs 500,000 only.
After selling their kidney for similar amount, Roka and Tamang had come into contact with kidney buyers in India. Later, they joined the smuggling racket after knowing that they could earn more money by luring other people into selling their kidneys. The duo would often show their wound on their belly from where their kidneys were taken out to persuade people that they could lead a healthy life upon selling one of their kidneys.
"The street boys were lured by traffickers saying they would earn Rs 500,000 and a mobile phone worth Rs 50,000 for selling one of their kidneys," said Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Malla of the AHTB.
The traffickers had already collected blood samples from the victims and the latter were made ready for trafficking to India when police intervened and rescued them.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
