A person hailing from Madurai in Tamil Nadu has been arrested here for allegedly cheating poor people of huge sums of money as registration fee for kidney sale, police said on July 5.

Suryasivaram Shiva, arrested July 4, allegedly collected Rs 15,000 as online registration fee from several people by posing as an agent for a 'kidney federation,' a police press release said. He posted his profile as an agent in the kidney donors-buyers network online. Shiva promised huge sums to donors saying 50 per cent amount would be deposited into their account prior to the operation and another 50 per cent after operation and gives them the option for selecting the hospitals in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, the release said.

After receiving Rs 15,000 for registration, he used to demand more money for medical examinations and processing fees, it said. When the clients refuse to pay, Shiva blocked their numbers and stopped chatting with them and searches for a new client, the release said. The case is under investigation, it added.