ISLAMABAD, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani police on Monday have busted a gang for extracting and selling of bone marrow in the guise of blood test from young women belonging to poor families in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, local Urdu TV channels reported.
The crime surfaced after the father of a 17-year-old girl reported it to the police in the country's eastern Hafizabad district. The victim's father revealed that the gang approached the family promising to help them prepare dowry for their daughter and making the financial assistance conditional on the medical check-up.
After this lucrative offer, the father said that they willingly agreed for the check-up, adding that the suspects told him they would take a blood sample of the girl as part of the procedure.
However, he added, when they returned home, his daughter started feeling weak. They then took her to a doctor who told them her bone marrow had been extracted, which impelled him to report the incident.
Taking action on the information, police raided the house and detained several suspects including a woman and recovered syringes and other equipment, while three other accused managed to flee from the scene.
Police said the members of the gang revealed that they have been running this business for a long time and extracted and sold bone marrows from over 92 girls and women without their knowledge. The gang was operating in different cities of Punjab.
The arrested were taken to an unknown location for interrogation, while an investigation into the case is underway.
According to local police, the victims are facing immense health issues while some of them have also suffered disability.
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and directed authorities to provide best medical treatment to the women whose bone marrow was extracted.
He has also ordered an inquiry into the incident and sought a report from the district police officer of Hafizabad.