Bengal cops arrest school teacher after donating mother’s eyes, trigger backlash

A school teacher and his family members were arrested in Nadia district’s Krishnagar on Monday on the complaint of a neighbour who accused them of selling his mother’s corneas after her death on Sunday, triggering a backlash from activists who blamed the police of arresting them without an investigation.

As Amir Chand Sheikh and his family was sent to jail, activists produced a certificate signed by his mother, Rabiya Bibi, on October 17, 2024 to establish that she had pledged her eyes through Ganadarpan, which has been promoting organ donation since the 1970s.

“We condemn the arrests. These people must be released immediately,” said Ganadarpan general secretary Sudipta Saha Roy. A Krishnagar court remanded them in judicial custody for three days.

Roy said Amir Chand Sheikh had also been trying to create awareness about organ donation.

There were no clear answers why the family, which was mourning the death of a family member, was arrested without a probe. Or why the neighbours targeted the family after a medical team retrieved Rabiya Bibi’s corneas.

Sambhab Jain, additional superintendent of police (headquarters) Krishnanagar, told HT that the arrests were made on the basis of a specific complaint. “The arrests were made not because the incident triggered a lot of tension linked to a sentimental religious issue. Police acted on the basis of a written complaint lodged by one of the neighbours of this family. Selling organs, as stated in the complaint, is a heinous crime,” Jain said.

“The counter opinion (about the family’s innocence) does exist and we are privy to it. Documents that have surfaced need to be examined. The man (Amir Chand Sheikh) could be a social worker and this could actually be a case of organ donation. An investigation is on. Whatever is right will be done,” Jain added.

Ganadarpan was started by a group of Marxists back in the 1970s. Over the years, the bodies of the Left Front’s two chief ministers, Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and a host of CPI(M) leaders were also donated to science.

West Bengal Imams Association chairman Md Yahiya also condemned the arrests and said if someone voluntarily pledges to donate an organ, then there is no provision in Islamic law to stop it.

“How could police arrest the woman’s sons and their wives when they are in mourning? If the woman voluntarily pledged to donate her eyes then nobody can cite Islam to stop it. The police should have verified the authenticity of the complaint instead of pacifying the mob,” the Imam told HT.