The sensational case of illegal sale of kidney in Cuttack took a different twist on Thursday when the arrested Andhra Pradesh doctor’s wife approached the Odisha High Court here seeking release of her husband from the “unlawful” detention by the Cuttack police.
N Rathnakumari, wife of Vishakhapatnam-based SevenHills Hospital director N Prabhakar, in a habeas corpus writ has sought the intervention of the HC to ensure that her arrested husband is released from unlawful police detention. She has also urged the HC to ensure that her ailing husband is brought before a judge or into a court.
Adjudicating the petition, a Division Bench of Justices Indrajit Mohanti and Biswanath Mohapatra issued express notices to the Odisha Government and asked the investigating police officer to personally remain present in the court on Monday with the case diary.
The Odisha Home Secretary, DGP, Cuttack city DCP and Mangalabag police station IIC have been asked to submit their counter affidavits in the Court by Saturday and the copies of the same shall be served on the petitioner advocate on Sunday so as to take up the matter
on Monday.
Dr Prabhakar Babu was arrested by a team of Cuttack police from his hospital complex on June 17 in connection with an illegal kidney donation involving a Cuttack woman. But since then, the Cuttack police are unable to obtain a transit remand for Babu and he could not be brought here as he was taken ill immediately after police arrested him. Sources said Babu is currently undergoing treatment at a Hyderabad hospital under police custody.
The petitioner’s advocate Satyabrata Pradhan said the doctor’s wife has filed the writ to safeguard her arrested husband’s freedom against arbitrary State action. The provisions under Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 are not applicable to Babu and the police have not followed certain provisions of CrPC while affecting the arrest.
It may be mentioned that an organized racket after targeting poor people in the city coaxed them to part with one of their kidneys in exchange of huge money. But two kidney donors (both women) approached the city police stating that they have been cheated by the members of the racket by not paying them the promised amount.
During investigation, police found that one of the Cuttack women was deceitfully shown as the wife of the recipient and the transplantation was done in the Vishakhapatnam private Hospital. The Hospital authorities had not properly verified the documents and even the mandatory no objection certificate (NOC) from the DMET of Odisha, was not obtained in this regard.