Middlemen in at least 10 villages of Kalai upazila are back in the illegal kidney trade as they promise villagers a good amount of money in exchange for kidneys, thanks to the poor vigilance of the local administration.
Villagers cajoled into selling kidneys undergo kidney transplantation at Columbia Asia Hospital and Medica Hospital in India’s Bangalore, and they get Tk2-3 lakh. The middlemen, however, are pocketing a whopping sum in the process.
Ripon of Bairagihat and Aminul Islam of Durgapur recently returned from Columbia Asia Hospital without selling their kidneys as a bargain did not work out.
The middlemen have designated areas where they work but they also maintain contact with other members of the network.
The illegal trade stopped for a while in Kalai upazila when reports in August 2011 said more than 50 people living in 20 villages of the upazila had sold theirs. The local administration took a number of steps, including arresting the middlemen, at the time but they obtained bail and returned to the illicit act when vigilance gradually became lax.
Four cases have so far been filed with Kalai police station in this connection, with three now under trial. The other suit was disposed of by the police at the police station.
Local middlemen Abdus Sattar, Abdul Mannan, Tareq Azam in Dhaka, Saiful Islam, Mahmudur Rahman Sujon and Nafiz Mahmud were named accused in the three cases. Villagers said those involved in the trade are recruiting new members to widen their networks.
Tempted by the sweet talk of the middlemen, at least 39 men and women in the upazila are believed to have sold kidneys in the last six months. Of them, 21 returned home but the rest 18 have not.
There have been allegations that the middlemen are appointing subordinates, especially locally, to work for them in different areas. They have already had their kidneys sold, which makes it a piece of cake for them to dupe others.
One of the widely used persuasion technique is telling people that selling a single kidney involves no potential health hazard.
“I was deep in debt and when Tajul came up to me and proposed Tk4 lakh, I jumped at it. However, I only got Tk1.5 lakh after the transplantation while the remaining amount went to the middleman,” Shahidul, who lately sold his kidney, said.
Khorshed Ali of Barai village and Shafiquddin of Bherend village said they bought CNG-run auto-rickshaws with the money they got from selling kidneys in order to run families.
Officer-in-Charge of Kalai police station Aminul Islam said the upazila is under regular surveillance to prevent new cases and nab the perpetrators.
Chairman of Kalai upazila parishad Minfuzur Rahman Milon said the middlemen are dishonestly persuading villagers to sell kidneys.
“There is poor supervision on the part of the administration and the middlemen are taking advantage of this,” he added.