LAHORE: Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday revealed that an eight-member gang of ‘kidney thieves,’ involved in 328 illegal kidney transplants, has been busted and announced Rs0.5 million reward for the team which busted the gang after “long wait and pursuit.”
“Ringleader Dr Fawad Mukhtar and all other members of his gang have been apprehended and Dr Fawad has confessed to his crime of 328 illegal kidney transplants, stealing kidneys, duping and extracting money from innocent people”, CM Mohsin Naqvi claimed while addressing a press conference here at CM Office on Sunday.
He revealed that the assistant of Dr Fawad gang was basically a motor mechanic and the same motor mechanic used to perform duty of administering anesthesia to people before illegal transplant.
“The gang was more active in Lahore, Taxila and Azad Kashmir and used to perform kidney operations at homes instead of operation theatres. Rs3 million used to be extorted from local patients while Rs10 million used to be extorted from those patients coming from abroad”, he pointed out, adding that the accused had confessed to perform 328 operations and this number can exceed as well. “Money was extorted from a patient in Jinnah Hospital and later by committing fraud his healthy kidney was extracted. When that patient went to another doctor then he came to know that his one kidney is missing.
CM Naqvi disclosed that the accused Dr Fawad Mukhtar has been arrested five times and used to commit the same notorious work every time after getting released. Now we are trying that he should not be arrested for the sixth time again. Chief Secretary and his team is working and the prosecution has been directed to submit a strong challan.
The police team conniving the release of Dr Fawad has been suspended.
CM Mohsin Naqvi in reply to a question stressed that the Punjab Healthcare Commission will have to become fully proactive adding that laws are in place and we do not have any scope of making change. We will make the rules more effective to the maximum possible extent. Their is a dire need of implementation in the presence of laws. The matter to hand over the case to the FIA will also be reviewed.
The police performed its duty diligently in this case and arrested the gang after making untiring efforts for one and a half month. The police and other allied institutions will have to expedite their crackdown against the gangs involved in playing with the lives of innocent people.CM revealed that people had to face inconvenience in PHOTA adding that the proposal to make PHOTA one window will be reviewed.
The CM informed that the death of three patients has been confirmed due to fawad gang’s operations. Mohsin Naqvi informed that two main culprits of eye injection scandal have been arrested. We are waiting for the report and no injustice will be committed to anyone in haste.
The CM apprised that few parts of cyber law have reached to us adding that the police and relevant institutions have been activated so that people can be provided relief with regard to cyber crimes. Provincial Ministers Dr Javed Akram, Information Minister Amir Mir, Chief Secretary, the Secretary Health, CCPO, CIA officials and other officers were present on the occasion.
