KATHMANDU, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Nepal handed over to India on Saturday an Indian man suspected of running an illegal kidney transplant racket there, an Indian embassy official said.

Amit Kumar was arrested at a hotel in southwest Nepal on Thursday. He is accused of duping or forcing hundreds of poor labourers into donating their organs to wealthy clients.

The racket, first uncovered last month in the booming IT city of Gurgaon outside New Delhi, was one of the largest transplant rings reported in India for years, and has led to calls for the government to stop the booming trade.

Gopal Baglay, spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, said Kumar had been handed over to Indian authorities in response to their request for his extradition.

"He is on the way to Delhi," Baglay said.

Kidney failure has become more common in rich countries, often because of obesity, and a shortage of transplant organs has fuelled a black market that exploits needy donors. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Simon Denyer and Sami Aboudi)

AlertNet news is provided by