Congress targets BJP over 'bogus' cardiologist in MP; ruling party says no one will be spared

Bhopal: The Congress on Monday sought to corner the BJP over a "fake" cardiologist at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district who is being blamed for the death of seven patients, and dubbed him as a "favourite" of the ruling party and a "hate-monger".

The BJP criticised the Congress for attempting to link the man at the centre of the row, Narendra John Camm, with the saffron party and asserted its government in the state takes action against wrongdoers no matter how influential he is. The saffron outfit pointed out that a case has already been registered against him and an investigation was on.

The opposition Congress claimed the "fake" doctor, against whom an FIR has been registered on charges of forgery and dishonest misappropriation, was a "habitual hate-monger" who vitiated the atmosphere in the country via social media.

Police registered the FIR on Sunday midnight against the accused on a complaint by Damoh district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) MK Jain, officials said.

In the complaint, Jain alleged Camm committed a fraud by performing angiography and angioplasty on patients at Damoh Mission Hospital without being registered with the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is conducting a separate investigation into the matter.

In a video released by the MP Congress, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate showed a photo of the alleged fake doctor on a mobile phone and said from the camera angle, his DP and name 'Professor N John Camm', people mistook him to be a foreigner.

"His actual name was Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, a Hindustani. He was such a great 'bhakt' that he would post worthless things on Twitter (now called X) all day and spew venom at the opposition," she maintained.

"He created an atmosphere of hatred in the country. He was 'chaheta' (favourite) of the BJP. The BJP's IT cell used to promote him hugely as their hero," the Congress leader charged.

She claimed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath used to reply to his tweets.

"But now what he has done is a grave crime. This fake doctor who used to claim to be a cardiologist from England, his degree is fake. He carried out heart surgeries of many people in Damoh, of whom seven died due to negligence and he is absconding," she said.

Despite knowing that his degrees were bogus and he was a fake doctor, who gave him permission to practice there? Shrinate asked.

"Now what will the BJP people, BJP's IT cell and Yogjiji say -- keep quiet. BJP is filled with such fake people, and its fallout is that seven people have lost their lives," she alleged.

The Congress leader further said, "He was your hero whose tweets were promoted. This fake man has killed people by becoming a fake doctor." When contacted, state BJP spokesman Narendra Saluja insisted the party-led government does not spare wrongdoers.

"Dr Mohan Yadav's government is in power in MP which does not consider a criminal's religion, caste, or party while taking action. Action is taken against wrongdoers no matter how influential he or they are. The ones who commit crime are not spared. There are many examples (in the past) ," Saluja said.

Another MP BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said, "Already, a case has been registered against the accused. The case is being investigated thoroughly at all levels. No one will be spared." Chaturvedi said everyone is free to express his thoughts in a democracy.

"There are crores of people in Bharat who feel like a political party does and like its ideology. But Congress on that basis just can’t link a wrongdoer with our leaders or our party which has cracked a whip on scamesters, criminals, rapists across the country. The BJP is a party with a difference having a clean slate," he said.

The 'fake' doctor has been charged under under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 315 (4) (dishonest misappropriation), 338 (forgery), 336 (3) (creating or altering documents or electronic records with fraudulent intent), 340 (2) (forged documents and electronic records) and 3 (5) (joint criminal liability when a criminal act is committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention).

As per a complaint lodged earlier by a local resident with the NHRC, the person, using the name 'Dr N John Camm', who was said to be working at the hospital, had shown himself to be educated and trained from abroad.

The complainant claimed he misused the name of a famous cardiologist from the United Kingdom, Professor John Camm, to mislead the patients and they died due to his wrong treatment.

NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo, in a post on X on Friday, said a case of the untimely death of seven persons has come to light in a missionary hospital in Damoh where a fake doctor was operating on patients in the name of the treatment of heart disease.