Calls may put doctor in fix

The Powai police could include call data records (CDR) pertaining to phone conversations of Dr Mukesh Shete — the nephrologist at Dr L.H. Hiranandani Hospital who was arrested for his suspected role in the kidney-transplant scam — in the chargesheet to be submitted in a city court soon. Police sources revealed that the CDR was acquired for examination to establish whether Shete was involved with middlemen under the scanner.

The Powai police in July had busted a kidney donation racket at the L.H. Hiranandani Hospital leading to the arrest of a donor, a recipient and his son, of family members and three alleged middlemen. The recipient died on September 5, when he was out on bail. A three-member panel of the state Directorate of Health Services (DHS) also probed the racket and brought five doctors of the hospital — Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Dr Anurag Naik, Dr Mukesh Shete, nephrologist and urologists Dr Mukesh Shah and Dr Prakash Shetty — under the scanner for their alleged irregularities.

The DHS that submitted a preliminary report to the Powai police in August had asked them to look into the CDR of Dr Shete as they suspected him to be one of the main players of the racket.

“Following the DHS report and the questioning of Shete by the DHS, the police had arrested him and questioned him regarding his role. We asked the telecom provider to send the Call Data details of his number and studied it,” said an officer.

He added that the findings of the same might be included in the chargesheet.

Sources claimed that the findings in the CDR could prove a link between Shete and the kingpin of the racket, Baijendra Bisen.

“The CDR has details of calls spanning about four months of this year, including the months of April and July when the racket was busted,” said a source. Shete, however, has denied his role so far.

The chargesheet, which is likely to be submitted next week, is also likely to level on Shete charges under the Transplant of Human Organs Act (TOHA).

“The said doctor was the treating doctor for many patients and approved the kidney donations. In some cases, it has been found that he went ahead with the surgery despite knowing that the donor and recipient blood groups were incompatible to each other,” claimed the source.