K’taka HRC orders probe against 5 cops in kidney selling case

BENGALURU: The Karnataka Human Rights Commission has ordered a departmental inquiry against five senior police officers in connection with a 29-year-old mentally challenged person's kidney selling and suspicious death case.

The Commission has recommended further investigation of the case by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). It also recommended Rs 14 lakh compensation to the mother of the victim within a period of one month. The compensation amount should be taken from the salaries of the accused police officers, the order said.

The member of the Commission K.B. Changappa has stated in his order that the investigation by the Commission has proved that the police had delayed filing of the FIR regarding the case registered in 2020 at Siddapura police station in Bengaluru by six months.

The probe also proved the dereliction of duty and improper investigation on part of the police. The Commission has recommended the Director General and IGP Praveen Sood conduct departmental inquiry regarding the case.

The probe has been recommended against then Siddapura police station inspectors M.L. Krishnamurthy, B. Shankarachar, PSI's V. Santhosh, J.M. Abraham, head constable K.S. Gopal.

The Commission had stated that Rs 3 lakh should be collected from the salary of inspector Krishnamurthy, Rs 7 lakh from inspector Shankarachar, Rs 1.50 lakh each from PSI's Santhosh and Abraham. Rs 1 lakh from the head constable Gopal.

Shankarappa, the mentally challenged victim from Yadgir was admitted to the Ekatha Charitable Trust in October, 2018. His family got a call from the trust saying that Shankarappa had gone missing while he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Sridhar Vasudev, attached to the trust, had allegedly given fake documents in connection with the development to the family of the victim. When the victim was not found even after months, a complaint was given to the Siddapur police station in Bengaluru against Sridhar Vasudev and others.

The accused allegedly removed both the kidneys, and the victim died due to severe bleeding during surgery on the operation table. This was found during the probe by the Commission, sources revealed. Although the complaint was given in September 2019, it was not lodged.

After several months, the family came that a kidney of the victim was sold for Rs 10 lakh. The police had then lodged a complaint on March 7, 2020 in this regard. Shivanand, a relative of the victim had also lodged a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission citing the dereliction of duty by the police.

The Commission in its order stated that the accused Sridhar Vasudev after being arrested had confessed to the police in his first statement that he had sold kidneys of the victim. However, the police had allegedly dropped this statement and taken up investigation in the wrong direction deliberately.

Without conducting proper investigation, coming under influence they had submitted the charge sheet hastily to the court, the Commission said. The family still has no confirmation whether Shankarappa is alive or dead.