Man arrested for selling wife's kidney 'because her family did not pay him a dowry'

A man in the Indian state of West Bengal was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly tricking his wife and selling her kidney to a businessman.

Rita Sarkar, a 28-year-old, said her husband sold her kidney because her family couldn't meet the dowry demand of Rs 2 lakhs. The incident came to light after she lodged a complaint against her in-laws. In her complaint she alleged that her husband of 12-years and her in-laws regularly tortured her for not meeting their dowry demands.

According to police officials, Sarkar's in-laws took advantage of her appendicitis to steal her kidney. Two years ago her husband reportedly took her to a private nursing home to have her appendix removed. The pain did not subside even after the operation, but her husband did not want her to tell anyone about the operation.

Sarkar learned about the missing kidney only later when she consulted a doctor.

“After consulting doctors at my parents hometown, I learnt why my husband had warned me not to discuss about the operation with anyone. He sold of my kidney as my family failed to meet his dowry demands,” she told the media.

This is not something that happens just in India. Women from several other nationalities have opened up about being tricked to sell their kidneys.

In 2007, a Pakistani farmer persuaded doctors to remove his wife's kidney so that he could sell it for money to buy a tractor. The wife discovered the organ was missing only when she sought treatment for an unrelated complaint.

In 2008, an Egyptian woman also accused her husband of allegedly drugging her and arranging for one of her kidneys to be removed and sold on the black market. Her kidney was reportedly sold for LE 15,000.

In 2012, Hafizabad resident Shumaila Bibi revealed to a law enforcement agency that her husband tortured her and sold her kidney by force for Rs 150,000.