- Eight-member group active in Azad Kashmir, Taxila: CM Punjab.
- Gang used to charge Rs2.8m to Rs10m for a kidney transplant.
- Doctor’s assistant was a “mechanic”, used to help in surgeries.
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has revealed the arrest of an eight-member gang including its leader — a doctor — involved in illegal organ transplants in the province.
Addressing a press conference in the CM’s House in Lahore on Sunday, Naqvi said that the doctor, who also has a history of prior arrest, was leading the gang involved in the illicit activity.
The caretaker provincial chief executive revealed that the gang used to charge between Rs2.8 million to Rs10m for a kidney transplant and the person who used to assist in the surgery was in fact a “motor mechanic”.
Most of the illegal illegal organ transplants used to be carried out in Azad Kashmir, and the group was also active in Taxila Naqvi said.
The police worked day and night to apprehend the gang, he added while lauding their performance.
Reassuring that the facilitators and abettors of the accused will also be arrested and that the government will try to present a “strong challan” of the case, the chief minister said that the case might be sent to the case to the Federal Investigation Agence (FIA) if needed.
Moreover, the Punjab health authorities have been facing further challenges as the province is currently facing a massive outbreak of viral conjunctivitis or ‘pink eye’ infection with the number of reported cases nearing the 100,000 mark on Saturday.
According to sources within the health department, as many as 10,269 cases of eye infection have been reported in the last 24 hours, exceeding the 90,000 mark, Geo News reported a day earlier.
The highest number of pink eye cases were reported in Bahawalpur with 1,540 people suffering from the infection. Meanwhile, 1,132 have been reported in Faisalabad, 1,048 in Multan 608 in Rahim Yar Khan and 452 patients in Lahore.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Dr Jamal Nasir has warned the public against resorting to self-medication saying that doing so can be injurious to their eyes.
Conjunctivitis usually affects both eyes and makes them:
- Red
- Burn or feel gritty
- Produce pus that sticks to lashes
- Itch
- Water
