Kidney kingpin to be produced in court on Sunday

Dr Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of India's biggest kidney transplant racket arrested on Friday after a fortnight-long manhunt, will be produced in a Nepalese court on Sunday and charged with violating foreign currency laws.

"As today and tomorrow are holidays in Nepal, Kumar will be produced in court on Sunday," Deputy Inspector General Ramesh Kumar Shrestha told reporters here.

He said the 40-year-old Indian doctor would be charged with possessing undeclared foreign currency.

Kumar told waiting media that he was "innocent" and being "falsely implicated".

Police had seized a bank draft for Indian rupees 936,000, and Euros 145,000 and USD 18,900 in cash from him during his arrest from Hotel Wildlife Camp in Chitwan in southern Nepal, 60 kms from the Indian border.

Initial reports of Nepalese media had said that he was carrying USD 145,000 and a draft of 936,000 Euros.

There were conflicting reports whether Manish Singh, who accompanied Kumar to the hotel, has been apprehended or not. While Himalayan Times claimed he had fled, Kantipur online reported that he has been arrested alongwith Kumar.

The news portal reported that another person escaped. There was no confirmation whether he was a Nepali or an Indian, it said.