The kidney transplant racket in Delhi, exposed by the arrest of seven persons, including three Bangladeshis and an Indian doctor, was part of a bigger inter-state network involving patients from Bangladesh in Rajasthan and Haryana, Delhi Police sources said.

They said the lid on the racket in Delhi blew off following a crackdown by Rajasthan and Haryana police on a kidney transplant racket involving patients from that country.

The arrests in Delhi were made based on the inputs shared by Rajasthan Police and the accused were part of the same module, the sources said.

In April, Rajasthan's anti-corruption bureau arrested three men in a drive against an organ transplant racket that used to issue fake no-objection certificates to foreigners for transplants in return for money.

Police in Haryana subsequently arrested five people, all from Bangladesh and were either kidney donors or recipients. They were arrested from a guesthouse in Gurgaon (Haryana) where they were lodged after the surgery, said the sources.

The accused arrested by Delhi Police were identified as Russel, Md Sumon Miyan, Md Rokon, Ratesh Pal, Md Sharique and Dr Vijaya Rajakumari and her assistant Vikram Singh.

Police first arrested Russel, Rokon, Miyan, all from Bangladesh, and Pal from Jasola village. "They targeted Bangladeshi patients suffering from kidney ailments by visiting dialysis centres in Bangladesh. They also arranged the donors from Bangladesh, taking advantage of their poor financial background and exploiting them on the pretext of providing them jobs in India," a Delhi Police officer said.

Russel disclosed the name of one Sharique as one of his associates. "Sharique from Uttar Pradesh used to take appointments for patients from Dr Vijaya Rajakumari and used to get the pathological tests done," said the sources.