DMK Health Minister Ma Subramanian has denied that the ongoing kidney trafficking controversy involves actual theft, instead referring to the issue as “irregularities.” In a recent press briefing, he shifted the blame onto the previous AIADMK government, claiming the alleged organ racket has been active since 2019 and was already noted in an earlier CSR. He assured that the Health Department is actively investigating the matter.
Speaking to media, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said, “He said they’re stealing human organs. To go deeper into this, we first need to understand the difference between theft and malpractice. Theft is when someone unknowingly takes a person, puts them to sleep, and removes their kidney or liver without their knowledge. This is malpractice, and it’s not new. It happened in Namakkal in 2019. In 2019, Edappadi Palaniswami himself was the Chief Minister. At that time, a police officer took action and even filed a CSR in 2019. The police officer in 2019 had instructed action to be taken, but they failed to do so. Following that, based on reports we received from newspapers and media, our departmental officials and joint directors investigated and found that wrongdoing had occurred. We gave them two weeks, led by the Project Director, to investigate and submit a report. Within the first week, a preliminary report confirmed that something wrong had happened, so we immediately suspended two hospitals. Once the full report comes in after these two weeks, we will take all necessary departmental and police actions against everyone involved.”
#BREAKING |"நாமக்கல்லில் நடந்திருப்பது கிட்னி திருட்டு இல்லை.."-அமைச்சர் மா.சு..!#MaSubramanian #Minister #NamakkalKidneyCase #NamakkalNews #KidneySales #TamilNews #NewsTamil #NewsTamil24x7 pic.twitter.com/flsPxCFYdO
— News Tamil 24×7 (@NewsTamilTV24x7) July 25, 2025
Responding to DMK Health Minister Ma Subramanian’s remarks, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai criticized him sharply through his official X handle, stating, “What happened to the power loom workers in Namakkal was ‘not kidney theft, but malpractice,’ says Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister, Mr. Ma Subramanian. Do you call it ‘malpractice’ to take advantage of someone’s poverty and steal their body parts? Aren’t you ashamed to say this? All right, then why hasn’t Dravida Anandan, the DMK functionary who acted as a middleman in this so-called malpractice, been arrested to this day? Is it enough to take some eyewash action against the hospital run by the DMK’s Manachanallur MLA, who is connected to this kidney theft? Is this the hallmark of your governance?”
நாமக்கல் விசைத்தறி தொழிலார்களுக்கு நடந்தது “கிட்னி திருட்டு இல்லை, முறைகேடு”; இதைச் சொல்வது தமிழகத்தின் சுகாதாரத்துறை அமைச்சர் திரு மா சுப்ரமணியன் அவர்கள்.
ஒருவரின் ஏழ்மையை பயன்படுத்தி அவரின் உடல் உறுப்புகளை திருடுவதை முறைகேடு என்று சொல்வதா? இப்படி சொல்வதற்கு உங்களுக்கு… pic.twitter.com/wlsA1lfWoC
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) July 25, 2025
His remarks come amid mounting outrage over a burgeoning kidney trafficking network allegedly linked to Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Hospital a well-known private healthcare provider in Tamil Nadu. The hospital is under scrutiny for reportedly conducting illegal kidney transplants using organs trafficked from economically vulnerable women. The scandal has further intensified due to the hospital’s political affiliations, particularly with DMK MLA Kathiravan, the son of the hospital group’s founder, leading to accusations of political shielding and interference in regulatory oversight.
In response to these serious allegations, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has suspended kidney transplant permissions for both Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospital in Trichy. The suspension was ordered by the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) under Section 16(2) of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, citing urgent public interest following a preliminary probe.
The probe was led by Dr. S. Vineeth, Project Director of the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, along with senior medical officers and police officials. The investigation was initiated after reports emerged about the illegal sale of kidneys from women in Pallipalayam and Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district. Field inspections and interviews were conducted in both the implicated hospitals and surrounding areas, culminating in a preliminary report that triggered the suspension orders.
The scandal, which has captured national attention, centers on the exploitation of more than 90 impoverished women, many of whom are daily wage workers. Investigators allege that these women were promised between ₹5 to ₹10 lakh in exchange for their kidneys. The traffickers allegedly used counterfeit Aadhaar cards and fabricated medical documents to facilitate the transplants. In some instances, the women were coerced under financial distress and social pressure into undergoing surgery.
The illicit operations were reportedly carried out at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospital in Trichy. At the heart of the racket is M. Anandan, a 52-year-old DMK functionary from Anampalayam Perur, known locally as “Dravida Anandan.” He is accused of serving as a middleman, arranging deals, transporting donors, and forging official documents, seals, and even wearing fake government uniforms to aid the operation. Anandan is currently absconding. Authorities recovered forged documents, fake IDs, and official attire during a raid on his home.
Dr. Veeramani, the medical officer at the Pallipalayam Government Hospital, has lodged a formal complaint against Anandan, helping to expose the network.
This scandal has reignited concerns over political interference and selective enforcement. MLA Kathiravan, who represents Mannachanallur, is the son of the founder of the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Group, which owns the Perambalur hospital implicated in the case. The group has previously been accused of avoiding accountability in cases of medical negligence, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. There are also claims that political influence was used to stall the long-promised government medical college in Perambalur, which would have competed with the private hospital chain. Furthermore, so-called free health camps held in Kathiravan’s constituency are now under suspicion, with some fearing they may have served as a front for identifying vulnerable kidney donors.
Despite facing multiple complaints over inadequate care, unsupervised medical interns, and even preventable deaths, the hospital has largely operated without serious regulatory consequences. This has led to widespread allegations of systemic impunity and a failure of oversight mechanisms.
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