Hyderabad: The CID arrested one more accused in the Hyderabad kidney racket related to Alakananda Hospital that triggered widespread outrage across Telangana. Murali Krishna, a resident of Gangannadoravalasa village in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, was taken into custody on Tuesday in connection with the illegal organ trade.
CID chief Charu Sinha confirmed the arrest, stating that Murali Krishna was produced in a local court in Andhra Pradesh and brought to Hyderabad on a transit warrant. He was later remanded to Chanchalguda jail after being produced before the Nampally court on Wednesday.
The case was originally registered at Saroor Nagar Police Station on January 22 this year. Local police had earlier arrested 13 individuals, including hospital administrators and doctors, for facilitating illegal kidney transplants under the guise of organ donation.
With the case handed over to CID for a more thorough probe, the agency has been conducting coordinated searches with the Andhra Pradesh police. Murali Krishna was found to have targeted impoverished individuals in Tamil Nadu, offering them money in exchange for kidneys.
Investigators found that he operated in tandem with Bengaluru-based agents Pradeep and Pawan. Each kidney was reportedly sold for ₹10 lakh, of which ₹4–5 lakh was paid to the donors, according to CID findings.
In May, the CID had also arrested two more accused from Tamil Nadu, Shankaran and Ramya, who were allegedly part of the same network.
