LAHORE, Feb 3: The provincial police on Monday expressed its inability in the Lahore High Court to proceed against the kidneys’ sale by 400 villagers last November, calling it a ‘voluntary transaction.’

The police confirmed the sale of kidneys in its response to a petition filed by Advocate MD Tahir, alleging that some 400 residents of Sargodha’s Sultanpur Mela village sold their kidneys for Rs80,000 each to fight starvation on November 7, 2002.

He alleged each kidney was being resold for Rs800,000 to the patients from the elite society by the middlemen to mint money.

The petitioner said the provincial police was quite apathetic to this inhuman activity, as no action had been initiated against those organized groups supervising it. Doctors allegedly conduct surgical operations to remove the kidneys without check.

Assistant Inspector General (Legal) Saleem Sikandar, while appearing as respondent, submitted in court that an inquiry had been conducted through ASP Bhalwal, which had confirmed the alleged sale of kidneys.

According to the inquiry, the kidney sellers claimed hunger and multiplying debts payable to the landlords were the main reasons for kidney selling.

The police, however, laid its hands off the matter by saying that the kidney sellers had sold kidneys voluntarily. The official also submitted that surgical operations for the removal of the kidneys had taken place in Rawalpindi, which was outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Sargodha district police. Therefore, he said, “there was nothing for the police to take care of.”

Following the submission of this report, the petitioner requested court to allow him to file a rejoinder. The court accepted his request and adjourned the proceedings till further hearing.

BASANT: The LHC office rejected a petition challenging the Basant celebration and returned it unmarked on a technical objection for the second consecutive time.