Tamil Nadu, January 7, 2026: The Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMRHS) in Tamil Nadu has constituted a special committee on Tuesday, December 6, 2026, to investigate the state’s potential involvement in a kidney trafficking racket recently uncovered in Maharashtra. The committee, led by the Additional Director of the DMRHS, will examine whether doctors and middlemen based in Tamil Nadu played a role in the alleged pan-India organ trafficking network.
The investigation has moved far beyond local boundaries, with analysis of mobile records and technical data mapping a complex web of cooperation between agents, donors, and medical professionals, Chandrapur Superintendent of Police said to the reporters.
The probe originated from a complaint filed by Roshan Shivdas Kule, a farmer from Minthur village in Nagbhid tehsil of Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district. Kule reported that severe financial pressure forced him to sell his kidney in Cambodia to repay mounting debts.
According to the complaint, Kule initially borrowed approximately ₹1 lakh in 2021 from local moneylenders after facing farming setbacks and repeated crop losses. Due to interest rates of nearly 40 percent and continuous penalties, the debt reportedly ballooned to ₹74 lakh. Under relentless pressure from six moneylenders, Kule sold his left kidney at a military hospital in Cambodia in October 2024, receiving around ₹8 lakh.
A subsequent medical examination confirmed that he had only one kidney remaining, supporting his account of organ removal.
Maharashtra Police arrested a key figure in the alleged racket, identified as Mallesh, also known as “Dr. Krishna,” from Solapur, Maharashtra. Despite presenting himself as a doctor, police revealed that Mallesh is actually an engineer who had previously donated a kidney himself before allegedly becoming an agent for the trafficking operation.
Authorities allege that Mallesh facilitated Kule’s travel and organ sale in Cambodia and may have recruited 10 to 12 other individuals from India for similar procedures.
Four moneylenders from Bramhapuri, who were previously absconding, have also been arrested in connection with extortion and predatory lending practices that contributed to Kule’s financial crisis.
Following the initial investigation, a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Maharashtra visited Trichy to probe the alleged involvement of Tamil Nadu–based middlemen in the racket. This development prompted state health authorities to launch their own inquiry.
The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, explicitly prohibits the sale of human organs for monetary consideration. Under the law, organ donations must be altruistic and approved by appropriate authorization committees. Organ sale and trafficking are punishable offenses due to the inherent risk of exploiting vulnerable individuals.
According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), It is a form of trafficking in which individuals are exploited for organs. Although victims often appear to have consented to the removal of their organs, their consent is invalid when deception, fraud or abuse of a position of vulnerability is involved.
(Rh/VK/MSM)
