By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 13

The Lalitpur District Court has ordered to send Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nidan Hospital Bipendra Pradhan and four others to a judicial custody for their alleged involvement in transplanting kidney through illegal procedures.

The Lalitpur District Court issued the order Tuesday evening during a trail on the case of the illegal kidney transplant made on August 8 at Nidan Hospital, Pulchowk, Lalitpur.

The court had ordered to send the CEO, General Physician Dr. Rajesh Panta of the Hospital, Section Officer of Lalitpur District Administration Office Ram Chandra Ale, kidney recipient Shanker Lal Lama of Doramba-3 of Ramechhap district and legal officer of the Hospital Kumud Kumar Bhattarai of Kanchanrup Municipality-9 of Saptari district to judicial custody. 

Following the order, CEO Pradhan and others were taken to Lalitpur-based Nakkhu jail, one of the employees at Lalitpur District Court said.

The trail of the five accused, including the CEO, was held at the closed bench of Judge Madan Bahadur Dhami.

Following the hearings and claims from both the public prosecutors and the defendants, Judge Dhami gave the order to send them to a judicial custody on the basis of the available and immediate facts and proofs which were found against CEO and other accused, the Lalitpur District Court said. 

The court denied issuing order to release them on bail or date as the available facts and proofs had strongly showed them guilty on the case, according to one of the Court’s senior officers on a condition of anonymity.

According to Anti-human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police, the hospital and kidney receiver's family had managed the second person (fake kidney donor) against what was documented in the original hospital paper by changing the photos of the genuine kidney donors.

The kidney of the fake donor was sold to Shanker Lal Lama, according to SP Govinda Thapaliya of the Bureau. The kidney provider was given Rs. 300,000.