New Delhi, Aug 19 - Delhi police Wednesday claimed to have busted a gang involved in illicit trading in human blood by arresting six persons, among them a security guard of the city's prestigious Safdarjung Hospital.

The police got a whiff of the racket when they received a complaint from a man who was unable to arrange blood units for his two-year-old daughter. Vinod Kumar came in contact with the alleged kingpin, Mahesh Kumar, who assured him a unit of blood for Rs.2000 and in turn introduced him to his associates Ankur and Gaurav.

'Vinod Kumar was recently operated upon for an ailment and because of this was unable to donate blood for his daughter. He paid Rs.1500 and gave his wrist watch to them. But they cheated him and failed to give blood. Despite his poor condition, he had to finally donate his own blood to save his daughter's life,' said a senior police officer.

Kumar then complained to police about the incident Tuesday.

'The accused Mahesh Kumar, Satish Kumar, Kailash Singh, Gaurav Kumar, Ankur and Safdarjung Hospital's security guard Lal Bahadur were arrested from Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS with the help of the complainant,' the police officer said.