CBI arrests Bengal doctor in human organ smuggling case (Ld)

Kolkata, May 25 (IANS) The CBI on Sunday arrested Dr Tapan Kumar Jana, the head of the anatomy department at West Bengal’s Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, in a human organ trafficking racket.

Dr Jana was arrested in Kolkata. His arrest followed a night-long raid and search operations at his residence in Burdwan town in East Burdwan district of West Bengal, which started from Saturday midnight and continued till Sunday morning.

At the time of the raid and search operation, Jana was not at his residence, and his wife, Sushmita Jana, who is also a doctor at a medical college and hospital in Kolkata, reportedly told the CBI officials that her husband was on duty at his workplace in Murshidabad.

The accused doctor will be presented at a special court in Kolkata on Sunday, and the CBI counsel will seek his custody. Besides his post in the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, he is also attached to the National Medical Council as an assessor.

Apart from his involvement with a human organ smuggling racket, there are charges of producing doctored assessment reports from the NMC in certain cases against money.

Recently, a complaint was lodged by a Karnataka-based medical college and hospital against Jana, where he was accused of demanding Rs 10 lakh for arranging an NMC assessment report for the said medical entity.

The investigating officials doubt that Jana is a part of a major racket and therefore, are keen to interrogate him after taking him into custody.

Earlier during the nightlong raid and search operation at his residence, the CBI sleuths seized cash, gold, and diamond ornaments, a computer hard disc and some paper documents.

The raid and search operations were conducted by the CBI officials strictly as per protocol, with the officials first contacting the local police station on Saturday night before conducting the raids that started around midnight.

The raid and search operations were conducted by a team of eight CBI officials.

--IANS

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