Good morning! As we geared up for a fresh week, Sunday night seems to have ended in heartbreak for India’s bid to keep its campaign alive at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Even with a pretty solid performance against Australia on the night, we fell short of 9 runs while chasing 152, putting our campaign on the line. Even skipper Harmanpreet Kaur with an unbeaten 54 runs couldn’t find her timing right to deliver the finishing touches. Now, India are mathematically alive but depend on Pakistan to beat an in-form New Zealand… but not too heavily. Fingers crossed! Let’s move on to today’s edition: 🚨Big Story In the latest Express Investigation, we lay bare an under-probe international kidney transplant racket operating from Delhi to Dhaka. Run by an accused Delhi surgeon of a 10-member syndicate, it revolves around two well-known hospitals – Apollo and Yatharth hospitals in Noida. The scale: In a period of three years under probe, an investigation of case records – including interrogation reports, international approval forms and call records – by The Indian Express show that 66 kidney transplant surgeries involving Bangladeshi patients were conducted at the Apollo hospital and 78 such operations at Yatharth hospital. Props and players: While the racket was led by the Delhi surgeon Dr Vijaya Rajakumari, two Bangladeshi nationals including a translator working in India’s medical tourism sector, were among the nine others who are all out on bail as of today. Records show that the gang left no stone unturned – from fake family trees, forged documents, and fabricated seals to a diagnostic lab that existed only on paper and a plastic box labelled “premium dates” but full of red “official” stickers. The bust: The racket was busted by Delhi Police following an investigation triggered by an alert from the Union Health Ministry in April this year warning of a surge in “commercial dealings” involving organ transplants for foreigners. A case was filed on June 17 and the chargesheet a month later. Modus operandi: To lure poor individuals from Bangladesh to donate kidneys for Rs 4-5 lakh, and charge recipients around Rs 25 lakh — much above the “going rate” in Noida of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for complex cases The catch… is the misuse of “Form 21”, a first in this manner in India. It is essentially a no-objection certificate from the respective embassy to confirm that an organ donation is driven by love, not money or coercion. Now, organ donation is strictly regulated in India with only close blood relatives and spouses allowed to donate, and as for foreign nationals, this form at the core of the racket is mandatory. According to police, the gang allegedly fabricated links between donors and recipients to secure this form for each surgery. To be continued: The police have also sought details of over 125-130 other transplants conducted on Bangladeshi patients at the two said hospitals from 2018 to 2024. Also, ⚡Only in Express “Chhattisgarh will succeed in completing the Home Minister’s vision of eliminating Naxalism from Bharat by 2026.” When BJP leader and the party’s tribal face Vishnu Deo Sai took over as the fourth Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh last year in December, he became the first tribal to head the state. In an Idea Exchange session recently, CM Sai spoke on the BJP’s latest Haryana victory, the slight decline of the party in the recent Lok Sabha elections and his efforts to ‘mainstream’, and ensure a better life for tribals in his state. 📰From the Front Page Behind Baba Siddique’s killing: On Saturday night, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and three-time MLA Baba Siddique was gunned down by three assailants in Mumbai’s Bandra East. Police sources have said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was suspected to be behind the killing which took place despite Siddique having Y-level security. The jailed gangster Bishnoi is the prime accused in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and has also garnered considerable notoriety due to his constant threats to Bollywood star Salman Khan – also a close friend of Siddique. Law of the land: In a Rajasthan village, the legend of Roop Kanwar, India's last known case of sati, has only gotten stronger with each passing year and with every retelling: Now, locals believe praying to Roop will bring them good fortune. Illegal shrines worshiping her dot the village, and sati temples have stood in Rajasthan for years. The chorus of prayer pales any fear of police action or the law. Must Read Months after he was cleared of all charges in the alleged Maoist links case and released from jail after nearly a decade, the former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba passed away on Saturday due to health complications. He was only 57. While he languished in jail, Saibaba’s family and lawyers trailed the courts, raising concerns about stalled treatments and awaiting his long-delayed release. "I keep thinking that I did not have enough of him…” Hours after the death of her husband, Vasantha's voice is steady through the crushing grief. Dealing with a sudden vacuum in their life, Vasantha and Saibab’s daughter Manjeera spoke to The Indian Express, remembering the lost years with their ‘Sai’. Age factor: Once limited to the South, India’s senior living market is rapidly expanding, driven by changing societal norms and nuclearisation of families. As the demand for specialised housing for the elderly increases, developers and policymakers are trying to keep up. And Finally… 'Science fiction without fiction': Elon Musk was beaming on Sunday. SpaceX pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with monstrous metal arms. "The tower has caught the rocket!" announced Musk, saying that the feat was a "big step towards making life multi-planetary". 🎧 3 Things: First, we talk to Damini Nath about the second version of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Next, Divya A talks to us about Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, and finally, we discuss how quick commerce sites like Zomato, Blinkit, Swiggy and Myntra use AI for enhancing consumer experience. Tune into the latest episode now! That’s all for today. Until tomorrow Vibha B Madhava and Ayesha Jain
