Kolkata: In a breakthrough in the Ashoknagar kidney trafficking case, Pradeep Kumar Bar — a 37-year-old lawyer practising at Alipore court — was arrested on Friday. He was sent to cop custody for a week. Cops said his name surfaced during interrogation of those arrested earlier in the case. Bar was picked up from his Bansdroni residence after being served a police notice. He appeared at Ashoknagar police station around 4 pm on Thursday and was questioned until 3 am on Friday. "He failed to provide satisfactory responses, leading to his arrest," an officer said. Police earlier busted the racket allegedly operated by loan sharks, arresting the alleged kingpin Gurupada Jana alias Amit of UP from Jadavpur in March. Mousumi Sardar, Piyali Dey, and Gouranga Sardar, who worked as ayahs at a private hospital in South Kolkata, were also arrested.The case took an alarming turn after the arrest of Bikas Ghosh alias Sheetal, a moneylender from Ashoknagar, and his associate. The duo allegedly coerced a young homemaker into selling her kidney after her husband failed to repay a Rs 60,000 loan that ballooned to over Rs 1.5 lakh due to interest.Cops think Bar played a key role in the legal processing of fraudulent kidney transplant affidavits. Although the transplants occurred in Habra and surrounding areas, Bar allegedly handled most of the affidavit documentation from the Alipore court, raising suspicions due to jurisdictional discrepancies. Sources said Bar acted as a middleman in the racket since 2014, exploiting legal loopholes, and charging Rs 10,000 per case.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes, messages, and quotes !