The Nepal government has handed Dr Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of a multi-million dollar kidney racket, over to Indian authorities.

He was flown to New Delhi by a regular flight of the Indian Airlines (IC 814) Saturday evening, it is learnt.

Indian media reports say the Ministry of External Affairs of India has confirmed his handover.

However, government authorities are yet to speak on the hasty handover of Dr Amit Kumar nicknamed ‘Dr Horror’ and ‘Kidney King’.

Earlier in the afternoon, Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel had said that the notorious Indian kidney doctor, who was arrested by the Nepal Police from a hotel in Suaraha of Chitwan district Thursday evening, would soon be handed over to India after completing necessary procedures.

“The Indian government has written a letter seeking his handover. He will be handed over to India because he is an Indian national and he committed crime in India,” Poudel said speaking at the Reporters Club.

He also revealed that no case was being initiated against him in Nepal.

The minister also informed that the next cabinet meeting would discuss the kidney racket and the arrest of its kingpin. He added that though Nepal and India were yet to renew the extradition treaty Dr Amit Kumar would be handed over on the basis of mutual understanding between the two governments.

Earlier, the police officials had hinted at the possibility of initiating a case against Dr Amit in Nepal for illegal possession of foreign currency and some fake documents.

Though he has confessed conducting more than 3000 kidney transplants to patients especially from America, Canada and European countries, but has insisted that he never duped the kidney donors.

A number of Nepali accomplices of the kidney racket have been identified, but it is yet not clear if Dr Amit Kumar conducted transplants in Nepal. nepalnews.com mk/ia Feb 09 08