Lucknow, Aug 24 - Lucknow Police Monday raided a private pathology lab in the state capital where the six men arrested Saturday normally supplied adulterated blood, officials said.

Police Saturday arrested six people from a hideout in Thakurganj area of the state capital and recovered nearly 100 units of blood from them.

Initial investigations in the adulterated blood trading racket in Lucknow has revealed the involvement of many hospitals and blood banks, police said.

'We raided Umrai Pathology today (Monday) afternoon and recovered over half a dozen blood pouches from here. We have also recovered equipments used to collect blood,' police inspector Abhishek Sirohi said.

According to police sources, the pathology lab located in the Sarojininagar area in Lucknow is owned by U.B. Singh, who is a practicing pathologist in the state government's Balrampur Hospital.

Police sources added that over a dozen private nursing homes and pathology labs will be raided soon.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police Vinay Chandra, the gang used to buy blood from professional donors like drug addicts, rickshaw pullers, and beggars and mixed saline water in it to make three units from one unit of blood. This was sold at Rs.1,000-1,500 per unit.

'Besides blood, we also recovered pouches of plasma from their hideout where they collected blood. It is impossible for an untrained person to extract plasma from blood and the involvement of some doctors and pathologists has also come to light,' Chandra added.

Besides the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU), the name of some high profile private hospitals has also come to light for their alleged involvement in the blood racket.