State nominee, 2 other doctors not charged yet

MUMBAI: City police are continuing their investigation into the kidney racket against three doctors—Dr B P Kadam, state representative on the panel that approves transplants, pathologist Suvin Shetty (40) and general physician Veena Shewilkar (53) from L H Hiranandani Hospital—who have not been arrested in the case.
The final directorate of health services (DHS) report has given a clean chit to Dr Kadam who was on the committee that gave the green signal for the illegal transplant scheduled for July 14.“Dr Kadam has been given the benefit of Section 23 of the Organ Transplant Act, which provides ‘protection of action taken in good faith’,” said a state government source.
A state representative is needed on a hospital committee as per The Transplantation of Human Organs Act (TOHA).
A senior police officer, though, said they would not give Dr Kadam a clean chit without a detailed probe. “Dr Anurag Naik, who is on the panel, and the hospital CEO Sujit Chatterjee have been booked apart from others whose names have cropped up. A probe is on. ”
The Act requires a government doctor to be present at hospital-level authorization committee meetings to clear organ donations. The committee has to rule out commercial or shady dealings in transplants by interviewing a kidney donor and its recipient. The state inquiry committee, though, appears to have given Dr Kadam benefit of the doubt as it was his first such meeting.
Powai police senior inspector Bhai Mahadeshwar said the chargesheet has been submitted and the prime witness shown is Sundar Singh, among the others. “The medical evidence is backed up with the witnesses accounts. Action against the doctors and an agent will be taken after the probe is completed,” said Mahadeshwar. TNN