Mumbai: Helpless in the face of mounting debts and harassed by money lenders, Roshan Kule, a dairy farmer from Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, was forced to sell his kidney in Cambodia—triggering an investigation that has uncovered a cruel, transnational kidney racket.
Until 2021, Kule, a 36-year-old farmer from Minthur village, ran a modest dairy business with 12 cows. When all of them contracted lumpy skin disease (a highly contagious viral disease affecting cattle and water buffalo) that March, the sudden crisis pushed him into debt. What followed, according to police, eventually forced Kule to sell his kidney abroad.
Last week in the Maharashtra Assembly, Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis took note of the case and directed the police to expedite the probe.
Speaking to ThePrint, Mummaka Sudarshan, Superintendent of Police (SP), Chandrapur, said the investigation has already uncovered a broader network. “So far, what we have is that this is an established kidney racket and there are many donors like Kule who are under financial loss. But at the moment, only Kule has come forward, we are trying to get more information and persuading others to come forward.”
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Kule’s descent into debt
According to his complaint to the police, Kule’s troubles began after he spent about Rs 40,000 in March 2021 on treating his cattle. But his cattle did not get better and to continue their treatment, he approached a local moneylender, Manish Ghatbandhe, for a loan of Rs 1 lakh.
The loan came with steep interest and a condition that it be repaid within 15 days. But Kule managed to pay back only Rs 15,000 within the deadline. When he asked for more time, Ghatbandhe allegedly assaulted the dairy farmer.
“He said that within the following eight days, I had to repay him the remaining Rs 85,000 with an interest of 20 percent and a daily penalty of Rs 5,000. He even threatened to take away valuable goods from my house if I didn’t pay him back,” Kule wrote in his FIR.
Even more desperate now, Kule turned to more money lenders. In his complaint, he named Kishor Bawankule, Laxman Urkude, Pradip Bawankule, Sanjay Ballarpure and Satyavan Borkar, all from nearby Brahmapuri.
Between 2021 and 2022, he said he kept borrowing to repay debts, each time at high interest. According to the complaint, he eventually paid back more than Rs 48.5 lakh for loans that totalled only a few lakh rupees.
He sold land, pledged gold and even gave away a tractor, but the demands continued.
“I was pushed into a deep chasm of debt. I even had to sell valuables that belonged to my father. I was finally compelled to sell my left kidney in Cambodia,” he wrote in his FIR.
Journey to Cambodia
With few options left, Kule began an online search. During it he came into contact with Ramkrushna Sunchu, whom police describe as an intermediary in an organ-trafficking network.
Investigators say Sunchu, a mechanical engineer from Solapur, helped arrange the trip to Cambodia. Another agent, Himanshu Bhardwaj from Mohali, allegedly booked Kule’s tickets. Sunchu, too, had sold his kidney.
Kule travelled to Phnom Penh and sold his kidney on 14 October 2024 at Preah Ket Mealea Hospital. Police say he received about Rs 8 lakh.
“Our probe revealed that Kule had gone to Cambodia for selling his kidney for which he got Rs 8 lakh. The agent, Ramkrushna Sunchu, who is a Solapur resident helped him go to Cambodia. Sunchu has also sold his own kidney,” a police officer involved in the investigation told ThePrint.
Soon after the surgery, Kule returned to India. But his financial troubles persisted.
According to his complaint, one of the agents later arranged a job for him in Vietnam, where he alleged he was treated inhumanly.
Rescue and FIR
In July 2025, Kule contacted Congress MLA and CLP leader Vijay Wadettiwar and asked for help. Wadettiwar’s team confirmed to ThePrint that they helped bring Kule back to India.
“Kule was working in Vietnam at a call center and there he was assaulted and his passport was confiscated,” Wadettiwar told the Assembly last week.
He also said Kule had approached police multiple times after returning from Vietnam. Eventually, on 16 December 2025, Kule registered an FIR.
Police booked six people under several provisions of the BNS, including sections related to extortion, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and conspiracy, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Money Lending (Regulation) Act.
Wider organ-trafficking network
As investigators traced Kule’s journey, they began uncovering a wider network involving agents, hospitals and doctors.
Police arrested Sunchu and Bhardwaj in December 2025. During questioning, investigators found that Bhardwaj had earlier sold his own kidney at Star Kims Hospital in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. The police are also investigating the alleged role of the hospital’s managing director, Dr Rajaratnam Govindswamy, who is currently absconding.
Investigators further suspect the involvement of Delhi-based surgeon Dr Ravinderpal Singh, who allegedly travelled to Tiruchirappalli to perform transplant surgeries arranged by the network.
According to the police, recipients were charged between Rs 55 lakh and Rs 60 lakh for a transplant. The money was allegedly split among the hospital, agents, doctors and donors.
“This is a big racket that we are unearthing,” Sudarshan said.
Legal hurdles in the probe
The investigation has faced procedural challenges because organ-transplant offences fall under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, which requires specific authorisation for arrests.
Police attempted to arrest Delhi-based surgeon Dr Ravinderpal Singh in Delhi in January this year, but he got anticipatory bail. The matter is currently being heard before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, and Singh has interim protection until 11 March.
Meanwhile, Govindswamy—who secured transit bail from the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court—has allegedly absconded after failing to comply with bail conditions.
According to police, the two doctors are the prime accused in the case, while Sunchu and Bhardwaj remain in custody.
The investigation is being led by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Additional SP Ishwar Katkade. Officials say they suspect there are many more victims but have declined to share details for now.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)