Police have arrested controversial social worker Milton Samadder, founder of Child and Old Age Care in Dhaka’s Mirpur, after media reports suggested he might have been running a racket of organ harvesters.

Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid, chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch, said they apprehended Milton in Mirpur on Wednesday evening.

Besides the care home in Mirpur, Milton is chairman of Child and Old Age Care Foundation and Milton Home Care Private Limited, according to his Facebook page.

Hailing from Barishal, Milton claims to have a diploma in nursing from Chandraghona Christian Hospital. He describes the care home as an ashram.

His Facebook page showcases photos and videos capturing his efforts in helping children and the elderly. Influential people, including ministers, visited the centre in Mirpur’s Paikpara, as evidenced by photos shared on Facebook.

Milton has posted on his Facebook account more than 10 mobile banking donation numbers.

In a media briefing after the arrest, Harunor said locals forced Milton out of his home after he had physically assaulted his father.

Milton then started working in a pharmacy in Shahbagh, but lost the job on allegations of stealing medicines, according to the chief of DMP’s DB.

Harunor said they detained Milton following allegations made in media reports. They will question him about the allegations after filing a case against him.

“He has a lot of allegations against him and we will thoroughly investigate those,” he said.

“Media reports say Milton has an operation theatre there. He buries most of the bodies at night. It has been reported in the media that elderly people are not treated in the ashram. He forged the doctor's seal to make the death certificates himself,” the DMP additional commissioner added.

“He buried 900 bodies but could not show the documents of 800 bodies. Those who bathed the body also found blood stains near the kidneys. We will ask him why he does not take death certificates.”

Harunor said Milton claims to have 600-700 beneficiaries in two ashrams in Savar and Mirpur, but media reports suggest the number is only 30 to 40.

“We will interrogate him to find out how many people he had there, how many people died, whether he sells kidneys or not – we will investigate these things.”

Milton is also accused of human trafficking, attacking children and beating relatives of beneficiaries, the police officer said. “We will look into everything.”