PESHAWA R: A local court here on Monday rejected the bail pleas of two suspects including a doctor, charged by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with carrying out illegal kidney transplantations.

An additional district and sessions judge Kulsoom Azam dismissed bail petitions of the two suspects, observing that keeping in view evidence on record the petitioners could not be extended the benefit of bail.

The petitioners include head of a private health facility MaryamHospital Islamabad, Dr Nizakat, and head of another private health facility of Peshawar, Al-Kareem Medical Centre, Abdullah Khan.

They were charged under sections 10, 11 and 12 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010 and section 322 of Pakistan Penal Code.

The petitioners were arrested by FIA few days ago af ter registration of a case on complaint of Mohammadullah Khan, a resident of Kohat, against alleged illegal kidney transplantation to his uncle Haji Habib Khan by a group including some doctors in return of a hefty amount of Rs2.55 million.

The patient, Haji Habib, had died within two days of the illegal transplantation.

The complainant has early this month filed a writ petition in Peshawar High Court, requesting the court to direct FIA and HealthRegulatory Authority to take legal action against all the persons involved in the occurrence and conduct a high-level inquiry against all those, who were involved in the illegal organ trade.

Following that petition, the high court had issued notices to FIA and HRA, directing them to inform the court about steps they had taken to curb practice of illegal kidney transplantations.

The court will hear the petition again on November 22.

Advocate Malik Ajmal Khan appeared for the complainant and said that deceased Haji Habib Khan was advised kidney transplantation by a leading hospital in Islamabad.

He said that in the meantime Dr Nizakat promised the deceased and the complainant that he would arrange a kidney from a donor in return of Rs2.5 million.

Subsequently, Mr Khan said,Haji Habib Khan was operated at a private hospital in Peshawar by the members of the said gang. He stated that initially the complainant was told by one of the accused persons named Dr Ishfaq that the operation was successful, but subsequently he was asked to reach a private hospital in Rawalpindi as the patient needed to be shif ted to an ICU.

The counsel stated when the complainant reached the hospital in Rawalpindi on March 30, a doctor there informed him that Haji Habib was in critical condition and he subsequently expired there. He added when the complainant searched for Dr Ishfaq and other accused persons, they could not be traced.

He said that the concerned ambulance driver told the complainant that he had brought the patient from Al-Kareem Medical Centre Peshawar.