GUWAHATI, Nov 3: Key accused in the kidney trafficking case, Plaban Borthakur, who was absconding for about four months now, has been arrested from Tamil Nadu and brought to Assam, police sources said.
Morigaon superintendent of police Aparna Natarajan told a section of the media on Wednesday that a police team conducted an operation and tracked Borthakur to Coimbatore in the south Indian state.
“The accused was arrested three days back and brought to Jagiroad police station on Tuesday night where a case was earlier registered against him. He will be produced in the court today and we shall seek police remand,” Natarajan said.
The SP said that the police were investigating the case and that more details into the case could not be revealed as of now.
Gauhati High Court had, in a hearing, earlier rejected the bail plea of Borthakur, on the ground of enough evidence against the key accused.
Earlier in July, a major human organ trafficking racket, which preyed on villagers in debt and those struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was busted in central Assam’s Morigaon district.
Police had subsequently arrested three people, including a mother and son duo, from Dharamtul village for alleged involvement in the kidney trade racket.
Reportedly, some villagers claimed to have been lured by the organ traffickers to donate one of their kidneys in lieu of money and taken to a hospital in Kolkata for the required surgical procedures.
The victims however alleged that they were duped as the amount paid was too less than the sum promised by the brokers.