Hyderabad:  Telangana Police have busted two men who carried out illegal fingerprint surgeries to smuggle candidates to Kuwait for jobs. The police arrested four people on Monday; a special team conducted a joint operation by Malkajgiri Zone police along with Ghatkesar police.

The police identified the accused as Gajjalakondugari Naga Muneswar Reddy, Sagabala Venkat Ramana, Bovilla Shiva Shankar Reddy and Rendla Rama Krishna Reddy. They have conducted at least 11 such surgeries to change fingerprint patterns in Rajasthan as well as in Kerala, charging Rs.25, 000 for each.

The accused arrived here from Kadapa were staying at a hotel in Hyderabad, ready to perform such surgeries on more people at Ghatkesar. Two people who underwent the surgery to gain re-entry into Kuwait, after being deported, have also been arrested, the police said, adding the medical kits used for surgery and other evidence has been seized.

         The police said that Gajjalakondugari Naga Muneswar Reddy (36) radiologist and X-Ray Technician at Krishna Diagnostics in YSR Kadapa district. Sagabala Venkat Ramana (38) is an anaesthesia technician at DBR Hospital, Tirupathi.

Bovilla Shiva Shankar Reddy (25), and Rendla Rama Krishna Reddy (38), had worked as construction workers in Kuwait. The procedure helped individuals, who were deported from Kuwait for criminal activity, in evading the authorities. To perform the surgeries, Gajjalakondugari and Sagabala cut the upper layer of the fingertip, removed a part of the tissue and re-stitched it.

          The wound would get healed in a month or two, and would slightly alter fingerprint patterns for up to a year. The people who got the surgeries done would then have their fingerprints updated under India’s unique identity system Aadhaar, and with a new address, apply for a fresh visa to Kuwait, the police said.