RAWALPINDI: The district vigilance committee (DVC) that is looking into the role of doctors from a private hospital in illegal kidney transplants has yet to finalise its report, which will be sent to the provincial monitoring authority.

Police said once the DVC’s report is complete and they have received a go-ahead from the provincial monitoring authority, they will initiate legal action against the doctors already nominated as suspects in an FIR registered with the police on Oct 15.

Under the Punjab Vigilance Committees law, passed in April 2016, the DVC was constituted to look into an “illegal kidney transplantation case” uncovered by local police in Rawalpindi and into violations of the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Act 2012.

The DVC is headed by the district coordination officer, and consists of City Police Officer Israr Ahmed Khan Abbasi, the Intelligence Bureau district officer, Special Branch district officer, executive district officer health, Medical College principal, District Headquarters Hospital medical superintendent and any other member co-opted by the committee.

Under its terms of reference, the DVC recorded the statements of five victims of illegal kidney transplants, as well as 24 others who were detained in a commercial building in Bahria Town Phase VII and recovered during a police raid.

The committee also visited a private kidney centre in Morgah where illegal organ transplants were being carried out and examined other evidence collected from the hospital.

In its report, the committee has included medical reports of the five victims whose kidneys were stolen by doctors from a private hospital as well as suggestions for the provincial authorities. The victims’ medical examinations were carried out at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Nov 14.

The five victims, who belonged to Khanewal, Mandi Mahauddin and Rawalpindi, sold their kidneys for as little as Rs50,000 to Rs90,000 to doctors from the aforementioned Morgah hospital for the last year.

In their statements to the DVC and the local police, they said they were brought to Rawalpindi by members of an organ trafficking ring, and kept in Rawalpindi under heavy security.

Rawat Station House Officer (SHO) Javaid Iqbal told Dawn the police were facing legal obstacles in handling the organ transplant case, but after the report and approval from the provincial authorities the police will initiate legal action against doctors whose names have already been placed on the exit control list to prevent them from leaving the country.

An organ trafficking ring operating in Rawalpindi was unearthed by police last month, after 24 people were recovered during a raid. A police crackdown led to the arrests of four suspects.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2016