Three of the six accused arrested in connection with the kidney racket had donated their organs for anything between Rs 10,000 and a lakh, police said on Tuesday.

Mithun Chatterjee, who was arrested at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on February 2, had allegedly got one of his kidneys removed for Rs 1 lakh at a Coimbatore hospital in 2007.

“Pradip Mondal, who was picked up in Baruipur on Saturday night, had sold his kidney for Rs 65,000 at a private hospital in Calcutta in 2008,” said an investigating officer.

Hriday Kumar Dubey, held along with Mithun, got the worst deal. He told the cops that he had received only Rs 10,000 and a cellphone as the price of his kidney, which was removed in a private hospital in south Calcutta last year.

“Lakhs change hands for a transplant but the donors, save those who can drive a hard bargain, get a pittance,” the officer added.

Sleuths have learnt that the racket unearthed on February 2 lived off youths who had once donated kidneys and were later hired to scout for more donors, usually from the underprivileged section of society.

After spotting a prospective donor, the tout would counsel him for weeks and lure him into selling his organ by offering a huge amount.

“The touts would also bait the trap with promises of luxurious living and good food for at least a fortnight before and after the surgery,” said an officer of the detective department.

Once a candidate agreed to sell his kidney, the racket would start preparing the papers and arrange for the blood test and other medical formalities. “Manik Chowdhury, the kingpin, would keep a tab on each step from Delhi,” the officer added.

The sleuths said the touts had made a mistake by rushing the process with Suman Rudra, who blew the whistle on the racket. Pradip and Hriday had brought the unemployed youth to Apollo Gleneagles on the pretext of finding him a job and then suddenly asked him to undergo a blood test.

Sensing something was amiss, Suman pressed the duo and learnt to his horror that they were plotting to remove one of his kidneys.

He raised an alarm, leading to the serial arrests over the past week.

The police on Tuesday got the health department’s approval to start a case under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act. The accused have so far been booked under the Indian Penal Code.

“Though Suman had not been operated upon, there was clearly an attempt at removal of one of his kidneys. There are enough grounds to invoke the act,” said an officer

POLICE SCAN

• Kidney transplants in three private hospitals since 2007
• How many cases were referred to the state ethics panel on transplantation
• Whether the identities of the donors were checked (only near relatives can donate the organ)