Kochi, 11 July (H.S.):The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has expanded its investigation into the alleged multi-crore human organ trafficking racket in Kerala by summoning senior doctors attached to leading private multi-speciality hospitals that were searched during raids conducted last month.

According to sources, the doctors being questioned are senior consultants who were members of their respective hospitals' internal transplant evaluation committees. These committees play a crucial role in scrutinising the medical, ethical and legal aspects of organ transplant cases before recommending them to the government-authorised district authorisation committees for final approval.

A senior consultant from a private hospital in Kochi has already been questioned by the ED, while more doctors from hospitals searched during the agency's earlier raids are expected to be summoned in the coming days as the investigation gathers pace.

Sources said the ED is examining whether members of the internal transplant committees failed to detect irregularities in transplant applications or knowingly cleared cases that did not meet the legal requirements. Investigators are also scrutinising the financial dealings of doctors and committee members to determine whether any illegal payments, kickbacks or commissions were received in connection with transplant approvals.

The money laundering investigation stems from multiple FIRs registered by the Kerala Police, which uncovered an alleged inter-district organ trafficking network headed by Mohammed Najeeb Kallatra, a native of Kasaragod.

According to the police investigation, the syndicate allegedly recruited financially distressed individuals and persuaded them to donate kidneys for payments ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. The recipients, however, were reportedly charged between ₹20 lakh and ₹25 lakh, with intermediaries allegedly pocketing substantial commissions.

Investigators have alleged that the network circumvented the safeguards prescribed under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act by using forged medical certificates, fake doctor seals, fabricated hospital documents and counterfeit police No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to falsely portray unrelated donors and recipients as close relatives or altruistic donors eligible for transplantation.

Last month, the ED's Kochi Zonal Unit carried out coordinated searches at several major private hospitals across Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kottayam districts. During the raids, officials seized donor registries, transplant records, approval files and other documents connected with organ transplantation.

The agency had earlier questioned hospital managing directors and senior administrative officials to verify transplant records, approval procedures and financial transactions linked to the cases under investigation.

With members of hospital transplant evaluation committees now under the scanner, investigators are seeking to establish whether the alleged racket relied solely on forged documentation or whether it received active assistance—or was facilitated through deliberate negligence—within hospital systems.

The Enforcement Directorate has not issued any official statement on the latest developments in the case.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman