Another Assam Kidney Racket Busted; It Targeted Tea Garden Workers

Another racket of touts luring economically weak people into selling their kidneys in Assam has been busted, the police said. The first such case in recent times was reported from Assam's Dharamtul. In the latest incident, a case has been filed into the organ trade racket in Dibrugarh. This one targeted tea garden workers.

The Dibrugarh Police said they started investigation into the kidney racket after a case was filed on Thursday.

"We have filed a case at Lahowal police station and started investigation. Right now we cannot say much about the case because it is at a preliminary stage," a senior police officer who asked not to be named told NDTV.

Kidney racketeers have been active in tea garden areas of Upper Assam. The touts target workers by taking advantage of their poor economic condition.

In April, a tea garden worker, Ramu Karmakar, 45, of Singlijan tea estate in Dibrugarh, sold one of his kidneys to an agent for Rs 3.5 lakh.

"The poor tea garden workers are targeted by the kidney racketeers or agents who are closely monitoring them and collect details. Then they offer them money and convince them to sell kidneys. It's an organised crime and many high-profile names are associated with the racket," the police officer said.

The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, the largest body of tea garden workers, has formed a committee to investigate the matter. The team will visit the tea gardens and try to unearth the illegal racket, sources in the tea workers' body said.