About six months ago, a scruffy middle-aged man walked into the office of the Superintendent of Police (Ernakulam Rural), Aluva, one sultry afternoon with an envelope clutched tightly in his hand. The man, who appeared to be in a hurry, was at the police station to get a police clearance certificate for organ donation.
He wanted police permission to donate one of his kidneys to a patient unrelated to him. When the inquisitive police officer handling the applications threw a few random questions at the applicant, he had no idea what was in store for him. “How did you meet the potential recipient?” asked the officer.
The man nonchalantly muttered that he had met the patient who was crying uncontrollably in the corridor of a private city hospital. He stated that he was moved by the patient’s suffering and decided to part with one of his kidneys to save the patient’s life.
The officer did not believe a word of it, but gave the necessary permission. “I knew the man was lying. Now I am all the more convinced of my intuition,” recalls the officer days after the police allegedly busted the alleged organ trade following a series of raids in different parts of Kerala.
The May 8 intelligence-led raids across the state reportedly revealed details of an underworld that thrived on the plight of patients forced to spend years in hospital beds waiting for organ donors who may never appear.
3,462 patients by May 12
To put things into perspective, a total of 3,462 patients were waiting for organ transplants in the state as of May 12, 2026, according to data compiled. Most of them, 2,566 patients, need a kidney transplant, according to government sources.
“The information we received was about some DTP centers involved in creating fake documents, including letterheads of government officials and people’s representatives. But as the investigation progressed, we came across a network involved in forging documents to circumvent laws that restrict illegal organ donation,” says a police officer involved in the investigation.
So far, the police have registered five cases and arrested nine people; six from Ernakulam and three from Kollam. Those detained include 53-year-old Muhammed Najeeb, the suspected leader of the racket, and his wife Rasheeda, 37. Najeeb reportedly has 12 criminal cases against him, including a 2017 murder case registered in Mangaluru, police officials say.
Letterheads of MPs, MLAs
Police also arrested Sunny Varghese (56) and his wife Sini Varghese (50) from Kumarapuram, who run a DTP centre, and Sanoj Kuzhikkadan (32), a photo studio owner. Police say they have found forged documents like letterheads of MPs and MLAs, prominent hospitals in Kochi city, lab reports and fake seals from two shops in Kunnathunad and Najeeb’s residence. The raids also led to the arrest of Sreeji, the alleged agent; Sudheer, her accomplice; and Vinod, a daily wage worker. Debin Joseph, a native of Marayoor and an alleged middleman who lured financially vulnerable people into extortion, was arrested on Thursday.
“We have evidence that Sreeja was in touch with Najeeb. Vinod was arranged as a donor by her and her aide Sudheer. Vinod was accused of selling his kidney,” said a police officer from Kilikollur.
“Najeeb allegedly forged documents and committed related offenses across districts. We are examining the documents and other evidence seized from them. The depth of the crime will be clear only after the documents are analyzed,” says Ernakulam rural police chief KS Sudarshan, who is overseeing the investigation.
Financially vulnerable donors
According to police, the group identified financially vulnerable donors, promised them large sums of money and fabricated documents to avoid strict legal oversight of organ transplants.
Kochi City Police Commissioner S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar says hospitals could also come under the scanner during the investigation. The case has once again raised troubling legal, medical and ethical issues surrounding organ donation in Kerala. Police suspect the network may have been active for nearly three years.
“We have so far identified about 25 cases of kidney transplants from the documents seized from the accused. The transplants, according to Najeeb’s statement, took place in hospitals in different parts of the state. The veracity of each document needs to be verified,” says Sudarshan.
Investigators liken the network to a “money chain network” that thrives on desperation. “Those who need a transplant find agents through patients who have already undergone the procedure. Similarly, donors who need money are introduced through previous donors who are known to them,” says the officer.
Mira decided
“Najeeb is suspected to have charged around ₹20 lakh from the recipient and offered ₹5-10 lakh to the donor. He is also believed to have borne the donor’s medical expenses and made a profit of around ₹3-5 lakh from each case,” says another officer associated with the investigation.
Police suspect the network may have forged “certificates of unsuitability” and “certificates of altruism” — two key safeguards required under the Human Organ and Tissue Transplantation Act for organ donations involving unrelated donors. The possible forgery of certificates proving the relationship between the donor and the recipient is also checked.
The law favors organ donation from close relatives in an effort to prevent commercial exploitation. If the donor is an unrelated person, proof must be provided that the recipient’s immediate family members are medically incompatible, unwilling to donate for legitimate reasons, or even unavailable to donate. This is ascertained through a certificate of unsuitability as per the provisions of the Act.
At the same time, the unrelated donor must demonstrate that the donation is entirely voluntary, motivated by affection or humanitarian interests rather than financial gain. A certificate of altruism becomes essential there.
Dr. Unmesh AK, Head of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Kottayam and a member of the Kerala State Organization for Organ and Tissue Transplantation, hopes that the probe will expose illegal practices associated with organ transplantation.
He remembers hearing eerily similar stories of compassion while interviewing donors as part of the district-level authorization committee that reviews organ donation applications in Ernakulam and Thrissur. “So-called agents can exploit loopholes in the existing system,” fears Dr. Unmesh.
An ethical dilemma
It also points to the ethical dilemma regarding the patient’s situation and the authenticity of the donor, which sometimes makes it difficult for the medical board to make a phone call. The only sustainable solution, he says, is to boost cadaver organ donation and reduce reliance on living donors who are vulnerable to financial exploitation.
He also points out that the cumbersome documentation process associated with organ donation sometimes pushes even genuine donors to middlemen. “Police verification for unrelated donors must be mandatory, as medical panels may not always be able to independently verify the certificates or identities in front of them,” suggests Dr. Unmesh.
Dr. Mathew Jacob, a senior transplant surgeon at a private hospital in Kochi, says doctors sometimes cannot verify all the donor’s claims because “some of them are well educated and their stories would ring true”.
“There is a huge shortage of organs pledged for donation, and patients are desperate to get a transplant somehow. Authorization committees can verify the authenticity of the document with the authority that issued it, including the police. I’m not sure if this happens every time,” he notes. About the hospitals that appear under a cloud every time, the surgeon says: “It is not difficult for the police to find out if a hospital is involved in illegal transplants.”
Hussain Koya Thangal, president of the Kerala Private Hospitals Association, says the forum did not discuss the latest allegations and investigations into illegal organ donation.
Blame V. Nair. The state secretary, Liver Foundation of Kerala, a forum of nearly 3,000 organ donors and recipients, believes that if the cases are probed deeply, more shady dealings will definitely come to light than those exposed.
“Agents, The Real Culprits”
“The real culprits in the ecosystem are the agents. They often work from hospital premises and approach those who need a transplant. While there must be complete and elaborate documentation for organ donation, strict police scrutiny is necessary to detect fake documents and false testimonies,” says Mr Nair. The foundation is also calling for the promotion of cadaver donation and is planning a nationwide campaign called ‘Athmanalam’ with this intention in mind.
Shyam Padman, a lawyer based in Kochi, notes that “the rackets are thriving on the ground as the legal requirements for organ donation are stricter”. “The law governing organ donation seems to view every case with an element of suspicion. Legislative intervention is needed to make the donation process more transparent and hassle-free. Also, once cadaver donation is normalized, there will be no riots,” he opines.
For recipients who choose to travel illegally, it is worth taking any risk when it comes to a life-and-death situation. And illegal operators take advantage of hapless patients’ urge to survive.
