Kidney sale: 5 arrested by Crime Branch

Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested five persons in connection with a kidney sale case in Phulbani of Kandhamal district, said the State probe agency’s ADG B.K. Sharma today.

The arrested persons are Kiran Patnaik, Rajendra Patnaik and middleman Trinath, said Shrama adding that Mahendra Patnaik, the organ receiver, and his wife were give a bail-out on health grounds.

Notably, Kanhu Behera of Phulbani had undergone an operation for organ transplant in Sri Lanka in March.
After the transplant, he was brought to Berhampur and kept in the house of Mahendra for some days before being sent back to his house in Phulbani.

During transplant of the organ, Kanhu was shown as an adopted son of Mahendra’s mother. Even the surname of Kanhu was changed to Patnaik through an affidavit.

On June 13, a case was registered at the Town police station in Phulbani on the basis of reports from sub-collector and SDPO. Afterwards, the State government had handed over the probe into the kidney sale case to Crime Branch.