Kathmandu, December 13

Patan High Court released three persons, who were accused of illegally transplanting kidney at Pulchowk-based Nidan Hospital, on bail and two others on general date.

“A division bench of Chief Judge Nahakul Subedi and Judge Tek Narayan Kunwar yesterday issued the order to release Shankar Lal Lama, the kidney recipient, on Rs 1,000,000 bail, hospital’s legal officer Kumud Kumar Bhattarai on Rs 900,000 bail and Bipendra Pradhan, CEO of the hospital, on Rs 500,000 bail,” said Baburam Dahal, registrar at Patan High Court.

The court has also issued an order to release Section Officer of Lalitpur District Office Ram Chandra Ale and General Physician Rajesh Pant on general date, according to Dahal.

Police had arrested them in the second week of October on charge of illegally transplanting kidney. The arrest was made after the person, whose kidney was removed for illegal transplant, filed an FIR against nine persons involved in the act, a few months after the transplant.

Patan High Court has issued the order annulling the order of Lalitpur District Court to keep the accused in judicial custody until the final verdict.

Except the kidney recipient, all other arrestees were members of the Kidney Transplantation Approval Committee formed by the hospital.

Office of Lalitpur District Government Attorney had filed a case against nine persons as per the investigation report submitted by the Anti-human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police, on November 5.

Human organ transplantation law requires an independent approval committee that verifies whether or not the donor is medically fit to donate his/her kidney. The committee also looks into legal issues related to kidney transplantation. Kidney receiver Lama, 56, of Doramba, Ramechhap, was supposed to receive a kidney from his nephew, Sanjeev Ghising, on August 8. But on the day of the transplantation, the family of the patient with the support of the hospital authorities, produced a different person with forged documents replacing Ghising to donate kidney. The man had his photo pasted on the kidney transplantation document issued for Ghising.