Even as all the five doctors, including the CEO and medical director of Dr L.H. Hiranandani Hospital, were granted bail by the metropolitan court, Sundar Singh, whistleblower in this case, returned from hiding and gave a statement to Powai police station naming the doctors involved in the case.
Sundar, 23, while talking to THE WEEK outside the Powai Police Station said, he is a common labourer who worked in a video parlour owned by Bharat Shah. It was Shah who introduced him to Iqbal Ahmed. Ahmed convinced Singh to donate his organ.
Sunder Singh
"They took me to Hiranandani Hospital where I met Dr. Mukesh Shetye and Dr. Mukesh Shah. They told me 'you have nothing to fear, we won’t do anything wrong to you'" he says. He was told he cannot work for one and half years after the surgery and that "like blood, kidney grows back in the body."
He says after the doctors asked him to undertake a number of medical tests, he was admitted to Dr. L.H. Hiranandani Hospital on 14 March and underwent kidney transplant surgery on 17 March. He says he was not promised money for the kidney transplant but agents of Brijendra Bisen, who was arrested as the kingpin of the racket, had visited his home and knew of his desperate conditions.
"They told me that they will repair my home and will feed me enough and that there was no need to work," he recalls. "They assured me that my loans will be waived off."
When asked about what he feels about the doctors getting bail, he says, "[These] doctors are dangerous and they trap poor people like us. They do wrong practices and take advantage of people like us". He says he can identify the people involved in the racket, including some agents, but has not been contacted by the police till now.
However, since his surgery, he has been facing health issues, "I have problem walking. I can’t see clearly. I have constant bouts of fainting.".
He decided to not let the same happen to others. For the first time since the racket was busted in July, he has revealed his face, "Now I will reveal everything to the media, I can get help that way. That is why I am standing in front of the cameras."
