Porsche Case Doctor Held in Kidney Racket

More than two years before he allegedly tampered with blood samples to help a Pune teenager escape drunk-driving charges in the infamous Porsche hit-and-run case, Dr Ajay Taware was sanctioning illegal kidney transplants with forged documents in his role as head of the organ authorisation committee.

- Vicky Pathare

PUNE:

The former Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) medical superintendent, already in Yerawada Central Jail for his role in the high-profile crash, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a 2022 kidney transplant racket that used fake identities and fraudulent paperwork to circumvent organ donation laws.

Dr Taware was produced before a Pune court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till June 2, becoming the 17th person booked and eighth arrested in the kidney racket case.

He faces charges of approving illegal transplants while heading the Regional Authorisation Committee for Organ Transplants (RACOT).

"Taware's role has been established in misusing his position while giving approval to alleged kidney transplants in which forged documents were used and dummy donors and recipients were presented," the prosecution told the court while seeking seven days' custody.