Calcutta: A key accused in the baby sale racket busted in 2016, Partha Chatterjee, died at SSKM Hospital on Thursday morning.

Chatterjee, the owner of Sree Krishna Nursing Home on MG Road, fell ill while being produced in a Basirhat court for the trial in the baby sale case and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday night.

Chatterjee complained of a pain in his abdomen in the court, prompting the judge to direct the jail authorities to take care of his health.

A senior SSKM official said Chatterjee was disoriented and was suffering from a pain related to liver problems when he was admitted to the observation ward of the emergency department.

"His condition deteriorated early on Thursday and he died," the official said.

Chatterjee's name cropped up while CID sleuths were pursuing the leads thrown up after a raid on a nursing home in Baduria, North 24-Parganas, in November 2016. The sleuths found two newborns wrapped in cotton and kept in a carton, ready to be trafficked. Eight people were arrested at the nursing home.

While interrogating the accused, the officers came to know about the alleged involvement of the MG Road nursing home in the baby sale racket.

Santosh Kumar Samanta, a 60-year-old doctor gynaecologist associated with the nursing home as a consultant, was arrested first.

"While interrogating him we came to know that Chatterjee was involved, too, in selling newborns from the nursing home," a member of the investigating team said.

Chatterjee's daughter-in-law Paramita was arrested, too.

"The death of the accused will have no impact on the trial. We have submitted enough evidence and witnesses' statements to prove our case," a CID officer said.