Basanta Das reveals the scar where his kidney was taken out. A Telegraph picture

Basanta Das, 42, whose wife allegedly died after an illegal kidney transfer, was arrested for links with the racket in his house in Barasat’s Gitanjali Pally on Sunday afternoon.

“He was arrested because he and wife Shobha had sold their kidneys. There are also allegations that he was a close aide of Dilip Sen and Putul Sen,” said additional superintendent (North 24-Parganas) Sugata Sen. The couple, also residents of Gitanjali Pally, were arrested on Friday.

According to police records, Shobha committed suicide in December, but her neighbours alleged that the 35-year-old died of complications after the surgery to remove her kidney.

“Dilip and Putul lured people like Basanta and Shobha into the illegal kidney trade,” said neighbour Dwijahari Das.

Local residents complained that at least 11 “illegal kidney transfers” involving donors from the area had been conducted in the past year.

The matter came to the fore after Mangal Mondal complained on Friday that his daughter-in-law Sheela Mondal had gone missing after frequent meetings with Dilip and Putul.

Sheela was traced to Woodlands nursing home on Saturday. Her right kidney had been taken out to be transplanted in another woman. “We had done everything by the book and informed the police about it,” said a nursing home official.

Two officers of Barasat police station on Sunday recorded Sheela’s statement in the nursing home.

Investigators claimed to have found evidence that Dilip, Putul and Basanta had taken money — over Rs 1 lakh per case — for illegal kidney transfer but are ruling out involvement of an organised racket.

State health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra said the government had not received any complaint about illegal kidney donation. “Any case of kidney donation by a person unrelated to the recipient, whether in a government or a private hospital, has to be passed by the ethics committee. It is difficult to bypass the rules and engage in illegal kidney transfer,” Mishra told Metro.

But police sources said Dilip and his wife were working as agents for a Chennai resident. “We have got some names and addresses. We will inform our counterparts in Chennai after getting more information,” said a source.