Kochi: Bellamkonda Ram Prasad aka Prathapan (41), the alleged mastermind behind the international human trafficking network involved in organ harvesting, who was arrested by the Kerala police from Hyderabad, used to operate in the guise of a doctor, police sources have said.
He introduced himself as Dr Ram Prasad to his victims, mostly uneducated villagers. He used to operate from the first floor of a building at Khairatabad, a few km from Hyderabad. Downstairs there was a clinic run by one Dr BVS Ram Prasad. He apparently used the clinic and the real doctor’s identity as a cover-up for his illegal deals.
Prathapan’s role in the racket involved finding potential donors and getting them ready for organ harvesting in Iran. Most of his victims were from states such as Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra. Once the donors were sent to Iran, the rest of the operations were managed by Keralite Sabith Nasar, whose arrest revealed the shocking details about the international organ transplant gang.
The racket offered an amount up to Rs 8 lakhs to the people whom they identified as donors. They found the recipients through social media and charged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore from them as a package which covered surgery costs also.
Prathapan has been brought to Kerala and questioned by Ernakulam Rural SP Vaibhav Saxena.
A police source said Prathapan was caught in a secret operation while trying to flee Hyderabad. He was hiding out in a hotel in Hyderabad when the cops zeroed in on him.
Besides Sabith and Prathapan, the police have also nabbed one Sajith Shyam, suspected to be the one controlling the financial affairs of the gang. The police have found that Sabith and Sajith along with Madhu, a native of Kochi, ran a shell company and the money they made through the organ sale was invested in it.
Next target Madhu
With three key players landing in the net, the investigation team’s next target is Madhu who is believed to be in Iran. The procedures to bring him back to India have already started, the police source said.
Madhu is the one who deals with the hospitals and doctors in Iran.
The details of the racket came to light after Sabith, hailing from Valappadu in Thrissur district, was taken into custody from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) two weeks ago following a tip-off from central agencies.
All the accused have been charged under relevant provisions of the IPC and the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
A detailed investigation has been launched into the matter by a team headed by the Ernakulam Rural SP.
