Chandrapur: Delhi-based surgeon Dr Ravinder Pal Singh, one of the prime accused in the pan-India kidney trafficking case, on Wednesday evening surrendered before Bramhapuri Judicial Magistrate first class (JMFC) court after exhausting legal remedies to avoid arrest. Dr Singh was wanted since May when the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea, said investigators.The JMFC court remanded Dr Singh to judicial custody for 15 days and directed the investigating officer, additional superintendent of police Ishwar Katkade, to present the prosecution’s case. On Thursday, the court granted production warrant to the police. Katkade told TOI, “We will take Dr Singh in our custody on Friday and produce him before the court within 24 hours to seek formal PCR.”In April, the Nagpur bench of Bombay HC had rejected anticipatory bail plea of Dr Singh observing seriousness of the allegations and evidence gathered during the investigation. The case surfaced after Roshan Kule, a debt-ridden farmer from Nagbhid taluka in Chandrapur district, was forced to sell his kidney illegally to repay the loan taken at exorbitant interest from illegal money lenders. Investigators uncovered an organ trafficking syndicate allegedly operating across India and abroad.The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has identified Solapur-based Ramkrishna Sunchu as the alleged racket’s mastermind who coordinated transplant surgeries through Dr Singh and Trichy-based Dr Rajaratnam Govindaswamy. Investigators said Dr Govindaswamy is absconding despite rejection of his bail plea.
