KATHMANDU, Feb 9: Nepal handed over to India on Saturday an Indian man suspected of running an illegal kidney transplant racket there, an Indian embassy official said.

Amit Kumar was arrested at a hotel in southwest Nepal on Thursday. He is accused of duping or forcing hundreds of poor labourers into donating their organs to wealthy clients.

Gopal Baglay, spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, said Kumar had been handed over to Indian authorities in response to their request for his extradition.

“He is on the way to Delhi,” Baglay said.

A shortage of transplant organs has fuelled a black market that exploits needy donors.

—Reuters