Mastermind of Kidney Racket Arrested: More Than 100 Nepalis Exploited in India

 Kathmandu, September 2


Police have arrested 38-year-old Shyam Krishna Bhandari from Sindhupalchok, accused of running one of the biggest kidney trafficking rackets involving Nepali citizens. He was caught in India with the help of Delhi Police and brought back to Kathmandu on Saturday.


According to the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, Bhandari is the main planner behind sending Nepalis to India and getting their kidneys removed. SSP Krishna Pangeni said he is the most significant operator arrested so far in cross-border kidney trafficking cases.


Police say Bhandari has been active in the illegal trade for about five years. He had first gone to India to sell his own kidney but could not do so because of a medical mismatch. Instead, he started arranging kidney transplants for others and built a network.


After a week-long investigation in Delhi, police arrested Bhandari and his associate Sujan Bharti (29), also from Sindhupalchok, and brought them to Nepal. Investigators believe Bhandari has trafficked kidneys of more than 100 Nepalis, though he has admitted to only 25 cases so far. At least five victims have already testified.


Bhandari reportedly worked with agents and staff at Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida and other unknown clinics in India. Each kidney operation earned him over INR 1 million, while most Nepali victims got little or no money. One victim said he received just Rs 5,000.


The case gained public attention after nine Nepalis were rescued in India just before their kidneys were about to be removed. Media reports had exposed the racket, forcing Bhandari himself to send those victims back.


This comes after three other men—Rakesh Nepali, Sameer Nepali, and Rajkumar Nepali—were arrested in July for involvement in the same racket. Around that time, the case of Khil Bahadur Bhujel from Sindhuli, who had already lost a kidney in India, also came to light.


Police found that Bhandari had even obtained an Indian Aadhaar card three years ago to make his activities easier. His accomplice Bharti earned INR 40,000–50,000 per victim, while three other suspects had sold their own kidneys to convince others. The racket even trafficked a husband and wife from Kavre in July 2024.


So far, seven suspects have been arrested in this case. They face charges under Nepal’s Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007, which carries up to 10 years in prison and fines up to NPR 500,000. They are also being investigated under the Organized Crime Control Act, 2013.


Police have codenamed the investigation “Operation Life Shield.” According to findings, the group mostly targeted poor and desperate people from districts around Kathmandu. Victims were lured with false promises of jobs or money, taken to Delhi, kept in hotels in Lajpat Nagar, secretly tested, and then blindfolded before surgery at unknown clinics.


Since 2016, police have filed 14 kidney trafficking cases across Nepal, nine of them handled by the Bureau itself.

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