RAWALPINDI: One of the suspected members of an organ trafficking ring arrested last month has been declared innocent by a police team while five others, including three doctors, have been declared as proclaimed offenders by a local court.

The team, led by Superintendent of CIA Police Maria Mehmood, was constituted by the city police officer (CPO) to investigate the case and ensure the arrest of the five suspects, including Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and his two sons.

Raja Mehmood alias doctor, one of the suspects identified in the FIR, was arrested by the police along with Zafar Iqbal, the owner of a commercial building located in Bahria Town Phase VII along with Shahzad alias Shani, Faqeer Hussain alias Faqeera and Bilquis Bibi.

The police registered the case after unearthing the organ trafficking ring and recovering 20 men and four women from an illegal detention in the commercial building at Bahria Town on October 16.

Mehmood was earlier presumed to be a doctor but the police later said he was neither a doctor nor had any links with the kidney transplantation case as his name had mistakenly been given to the police by the detainees.

“Mehmood was declared innocent during the police investigation while the five other accused, including three doctors, have been declared as proclaimed offenders by the court,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Saleem Khattak.

He said the police would move for the attachment of the property owned by the accused 30 days after the court decision declaring them as proclaimed offenders.

The police said instead of surrendering to the police or obtaining pre-arrest bails from the court, the three doctors had filed an application with the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi bench for quashing the FIR against them.

When contacted, CPO Israr Ahmed Khan Abbasi told Dawn that the police had no legal powers to proceed against the doctors allegedly involved in an illegal organ transplantation.

He said under the law passed in 2012 vigilance committees were constituted in all the districts of Punjab in August 2016 to identify, prevent and curb any illegality or violation of the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Act 2012.

He said the police had registered the case after unearthing an organ trafficking ring and recovering 20 men and four women detained illegally in a commercial building in Bahria Town Phase VII on October 16.

“After the registration of the case, four of the accused were arrested, including the owner of the building and a woman,” the CPO said, adding the police were facing legal hurdles in handling cases related to illegal organ transplant clinics and could initiate action only on the recommendation of the district vigilance committee.

Headed by the district coordination officer, the district vigilance committee comprises the district police officer, district officer Intelligence Bureau, district officer Special Branch, the executive district officer health, the principal of the medical college in the district concerned, medical superintendent of the DHQ hospital and any other member to be co-opted by the committee.

Irshad Ahmed Khan, the public prosecutor, was unhappy over the police investigation and said he had given in writing that the investigation was not satisfactory and would benefit the accused.

The acquittal of one of the suspects is another dent in the case, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2016