Pune Kidney Racket: Dr. Ajay Taware, the former Medical Superintendent of Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) already jailed for his role in the infamous Pune Porsche hit-and-run blood sample tampering scandal, now faces serious charges in a separate, sprawling illegal kidney transplant racket. Arrested on Wednesday, Dr. Taware stands accused of abusing his position to sanction transplants using forged documents and fake identities, directly violating India’s organ donation laws.
Who is Dr. Ajay Taware and What is His Alleged Role or Role in Pune Kidney Racket?
Dr. Taware was the head of the Regional Authorisation Committee for Organ Transplants (RACOT) at the time of the alleged crimes in 2022. This powerful committee is responsible for scrutinizing and approving live organ transplants, ensuring donors and recipients meet strict legal criteria, primarily requiring donors to be close relatives like spouses or blood relations.
Prosecutors allege Dr. Taware “misused his position” by approving transplants where forged paperwork was presented, and “dummy donors and recipients” were used to deceive the system. He has become the 17th person booked and the eighth arrested in this Pune Kidney Racket case. He was remanded to police custody until June 2nd following a court appearance on Thursday.
The Pune Kidney Racket Scheme: How Did It Work?
The investigation centres on a specific “swap” kidney transplant performed at Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic on March 24, 2022. The elaborate fraud began to unravel just five days later due to a dramatic scene at the hospital.
A woman admitted as “Sujata Amit Salunkhe,” supposedly the wife of kidney recipient Amit Salunkhe, caused a commotion. She revealed her true identity as Sarika Gangaram Sutar, a 38-year-old widow from Kolhapur. Sutar confessed she had been promised ₹15 lakh to pose as Salunkhe’s wife and donate her kidney – a promise that was never fulfilled.
The Illegal Swap :
- The Setup: To bypass the law requiring spousal or blood relations for live donation, the alleged recipients turned to racketeers Ravindra Rodge and Abhijit Gatane.
- The Forgery: Rodge and Gatane are accused of forging documents to fraudulently present Sutar as Amit Salunkhe’s wife, securing RACOT approval under Dr. Taware’s chairmanship.
- The Swap: In the arranged deal, Sutar donated one of her kidneys to a 16-year-old girl from Baramati. Simultaneously, the teenage girl’s mother donated one of her kidneys to Amit Salunkhe.
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The Connection to the Pune Kidney Racket
Dr. Taware was already incarcerated in Yerawada Central Jail related to the May 19, 2024, Porsche crash where a minor, allegedly driving drunk, killed two people. Taware, along with casualty medical officer Dr. Shrihari Halnor (currently in magistrate custody), is accused of tampering with the minor’s blood sample at SGH.
Their plan involved swapping the juvenile’s blood sample with his mother’s and discarding the original. However, police had already taken a separate sample for DNA testing at another hospital. The mismatch between the DNA results from the two hospitals exposed the manipulation at SGH, directly implicating Taware and Halnor.
Investigations, Findings, and the Hospital’s Defense
This kidney racket has been under intense scrutiny:
- A state government committee led by former High Court judge Sandip K. Shinde, formed in April 2022 specifically to probe transplant malpractices, has indicted Dr. Taware and other RACOT members.
- “Prima facie, investigation has indicated financial deals in kidney transplants,” stated Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ganesh Ingale, revealing that nine suspect transplants occurred during Taware’s tenure as RACOT head.
- Following an inquiry by a committee led by Dr. Sadhana Tayde, Deputy Director of Health Services, an FIR was registered on May 11, 2022, at Koregaon Park Police Station. Fifteen people, including doctors and management from Ruby Hall Clinic, were booked for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and violations of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
- Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nikhil Pingale confirmed a chargesheet has been filed against seven accused from Ruby Hall Clinic. “Evidence and statements confirm that fake identities and forged documents were used for the transplants approved under Dr. Taware’s chairmanship,” Pingale stated. While eight other accused are on bail, one alleged facilitator, Bhau Sawant, remains at large.
Ruby Hall Clinic’s Stance: The hospital maintains it followed all protocols. Advocate Manjusha Kulkarni, the hospital’s General Manager (Legal), stated, “The transplant was cleared by RACOT. At that time, there was no official online system to verify identity documents.” She emphasized that the hospital alerted police immediately when inconsistencies emerged during the patient discharge process involving Sutar.
Dr. Taware’s arrest deepens the scandal surrounding Sassoon Hospital and raises serious questions about oversight in organ transplant approvals. His involvement in two major, unrelated criminal cases paints a disturbing picture of alleged corruption within critical medical and administrative systems. The police custody period will likely focus on uncovering the full extent of the kidney racket and Dr. Taware’s central role within it.
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