Six people, including five doctors and an ambulance operator, were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a kidney transplant racket busted by the Kanpur Police, who suspect the possible involvement of hospitals in other districts.

Police said those arrested have been identified as Dr Surjeet Singh Ahuja (54) and his wife Dr Preeti Ahuja (50), Dr Rajesh Kumar (44), Dr Ram Prakash (40), Dr Narendra Singh (35), and ambulance operator Shivam Agrawal (32). Police said Agrawal acted as the middleman, bringing potential donors to the doctors.

Police said the matter came to light after they received inputs from a source about illegal transplants, and a joint team, comprising police personnel and officials from the health department, raided three medical facilities in the Kalyanpur-Rawatpur area on March 29 and 30 – Ahuja Hospital, Priya Hospital, and Med Life Hospital.

Police said a substantial quantity of medicines was seized during the raids, and Rs 1.75 lakh in cash was recovered from the possession of the accused.

During their probe, officers said they found that the hospital run by the doctor couple was allegedly being used to carry out the transplant procedures. So far, police said evidence suggests that around seven to eight illegal kidney transplants were allegedly conducted at this facility.

Police said efforts are underway to arrest four doctors from Meerut suspected to be a part of the racket. “One of them, identified as Dr Rohit, is suspected to have played a key role in arranging donors for the racket. Dr Rohit has crucial information about the identities of the surgeons involved in conducting the transplant operations,” a police officer said.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kanpur, Hari Dutt, said that Med Life Hospital was found to be operating without registration and has been sealed. Notices have also been issued to the owners of two other hospitals in connection with the case.

Police said a team of doctors allegedly travelled to Kanpur to carry out transplant procedures, with communication reportedly taking place through encrypted messaging platforms.

Police said Agrawal, a Class VIII passout, posed as a doctor to lure and trap vulnerable persons. Police suspect the kidneys were procured from donors, usually people in economic distress, for Rs 5-6 lakh and sold to recipients between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

A senior officer said the surgeons, who carried out the transplant operations, would arrive at the hospital wearing masks to conceal their identities. After carrying out the procedures—each lasting around five to six hours—they would leave the premises immediately.

Police said the latest procedure was carried out at Ahuja Hospital, run by the arrested doctor couple, on March 29.

Police said the donor is a second-year MBA student from Dehradun, and the recipient, a woman from Muzaffarnagar. Investigators found that after the procedure, both donor and recipient were shifted to two different hospitals – Med Life Hospital (donor) and Priya Hospital (recipient).

The two are currently undergoing treatment and are reported to be in stable condition.

During questioning, police found that the student allegedly resorted to selling a kidney due to financial distress and mounting pressure to pay academic fees.

Police also suspect a wider network and the possible involvement of seven more hospitals — six in Kanpur and one in Lucknow.

During the probe, officers said they found that the kidney transplant trade had been active in Kanpur for the past two years, with around 50 such procedures believed to have been conducted so far across several private hospitals in the city.

Police said among the recipients was reportedly a woman from South Africa whose transplant was conducted on March 4 this year.

Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said Shivam Agrawal told them that seven to eight such cases were conducted at Ahuja Hospital, while around 40 to 50 cases were carried out across Kanpur.

The commissioner said that the names of several hospitals have surfaced during the joint probe by the CMO team, which is still going on.