SARGODHA, Nov 12: Kidney-selling has assumed alarming proportions in Sultanpur Mela, Bhalwal Tehsil, which nevertheless forms a small part of the illegal network that extends up to Rawalpindi.

As many as 350 people are said to have sold their kidneys for petty financial gains in Sultanpur Mela.

Despite reports published in Dawn last year, no action has been taken against the culprits, including the brokers and the management of some hospitals in Rawalpindi. The only action taken was that the Punjab governor directed the district government to submit a detailed report in this regard. The DCO visited the village and recorded statements of some people who had sold their kidneys.

A detailed report was published in Dawn about Magistrate Tariq Mehmood’s inquiry into the matter. However, there were no tangible results because of the influence wielded by those involved. The only result was that the people who had submitted the reports of their operation were deprived of the payment promised to them.

Muhammad Aslam who had sold his kidney in February told this correspondent that he paid Rs20,000 to a broker who had promised him Rs100,000. However, when he left the hospital in Rawalpindi, he was paid only Rs40,000. He alleged that the hospital was run by an army officer.

He further disclosed that a person of this area took the people from Sultanpur Mela to Rawalpindi for the purpose. He said that victims were not treated properly and were discharged only a week after the operation.

He pointed out that the hospital management charged over half a million rupees for kidney-transplantation.

He said that after a survey conducted by a team of media personnel, the hospital staff started having undertaking from donors that they were wilfully undergoing operation for removal of their “defective” kidneys.

DCO Malik Hassan Iqbal told this correspondent that his team had recorded statements of people who sold kidneys only to clear the debt of their landlords. He, however, refused to comment on the report he had submitted to the governor.

Meanwhile, the government has set up a free medical camp in Sultanpur Mela for treating the kidney-sellers, who are discharged from hospital without proper postoperative care.