Kidney thug had links with MPs, underworld

Dr Upendra, a close associate of Dr Amit Kumar, alleged kingpin in the kidney racket, on Saturday said Dr Amit had close ties with two high-profile Members of Parliament, a senior politician and the family of a senior bureaucrat of Haryana, who helped him whenever he ran into rough weather.

Sitting in the Moradabad SSP’s chamber with a blanket around him, Dr Upendra was allowed to speak to the media. “Dr Amit escaped from the clutches of IT sleuths in 1996 because of his contacts. He was helped by his close friends in Gurgaon who are influential people,” Upendra said.

During a raid at his Palam Vihar residence in September 1996, a 32-member team of IT officials led by an assistant commissioner fixed a tax liability of Rs 6 crore on him. “But he got away after a Congress MP helped him. This MP helped Amit get in touch with IT officials who ‘settled’ the matter,” said Dr Upendra.

Upendra also mentioned the name of another MP from Haryana whose election-in-charge was related to a senior doctor in a prominent Delhi hospital. He said Amit was also good friends with another senior minister in the Haryana cabinet who had inaugurated his hospital in 1997.
Moradabad police, however, said they were yet to verify Dr Upendra’s claims.

Had acted in C-grade film, knew don Shakeel

Dr Amit Kumar also acted in C-grade Bollywood films, started a film company, invested money in more than 100 hospitals across the country and abroad and kept links with the underworld, the Moradabad police said on Saturday.

He was also interested in the share market where he invested huge sums, in the process getting good returns, the police said.

Dr Amit and his brother Jeevan, according to the police, had contacts with underworld don Chhota Shakeel. “We have come to know about Dr Amit and his brother’s connections with Chota Shakeel,” said SSP Prem Prakash. Prakash said on some issue, Shakeel got angry with Dr Amit. “He then made extortion calls to Dr Amit,” he said.

The Mumbai police, too, have been talking about the extortion calls made by Shakeel to Dr Amit’s family.

The film company he reportedly started was named ‘Film World’ and the film in which the doctor played the role of a police officer was titled Khooni Raat, the police said.

It is believed the kidney racket kingpin had a plan to open his own hospitals in various parts of the country. One such hospital was under construction in Sadhopur village of Noida, which was raided by the police and its further construction stopped.