'Fake' cardiologist of Madhya Pradesh held in Prayagraj; NHRC probes death of patients treated by him

Damoh: Police on Monday arrested Narendra John Camm, an alleged fake cardiologist who is being linked to death of seven patients at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district, from adjoining Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said.

On Sunday midnight, police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused, who allegedly possesses a bogus medical degree, on forgery and cheating charges on a complaint by Damoh district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) MK Jain.

Damoh Superintendent of Police (SP) Shrut Kirti Somwanshi told PTI, "The accused, Dr Narendra John Camm, was arrested from Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh). Our team conducted a raid and arrested him. Our team is bringing him here." The accused will be later produced in court, he said.

The police officer said the accused will be interrogated on questions raised by the CMHO in his complaint.

"In the original complaint (submitted to NHRC), there was a mention of death of seven patients at Mission Hospital. Another complaint (filed by CMHO Jain) was related to verification of the doctor's degree," the SP said.

Primary verification revealed the doctor's certificate was fake, Somwanshi said.

The FIR was registered against Camm 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).

The accused was arrested on the basis of charges mentioned in the FIR, the police officer informed. "About the death of patients in the hospital, the district collector has handed over the probe to the Jabalpur Medical College after the report of CMHO. Further investigation will be conducted on the basis of their (Jabalpur Medical College) report," the SP said. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which received a separate complaint related to death of patients who were treated by the "fake" cardiologist at Damoh Missionary Hospital, is separately conducting a probe into the matter.

An NHRC probe team from New Delhi is camping in Damoh, around 260km from Bhopal, and will remain in the district till Wednesday. As per the complaint lodged with the NHRC by a local resident, the accused, using the name of a famous cardiologist from the UK, 'Dr N John Camm', had shown himself to be educated and trained from abroad. NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo flagged the use on Friday when he said a case of the untimely death of seven patients has come to light at a missionary hospital in Damoh where a fake doctor was operating on patients in the name of treating heart diseases.

According to the complaint, the real name of the accused is Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav. He misused the name of UK cardiologist Professor John Camm to mislead patients and they died due to his wrong treatment. In his complaint, CMHO Jain alleged Camm had committed a fraud by performing angiography and angioplasty on patients at the Mission Hospital without being registered with the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council. District Collector Sudhir Kumar Kochar told reporters the NHRC team has come to Damoh in connection with the complaint regarding the death of patients at the hospital.

"This (NHRC) team has interacted with us and CMHO. They will talk to the (family of) victims and complainants. They will carry out inquiry till Wednesday," he said.

The NHRC team will share details of their probe with police, Kochar maintained. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered the health department to take strict action into the matter. "We are aware of the incident. Our government is taking strict action and is continuously in touch with the Central government. I have instructed the health department to take strict action against such practises, if any, at other places (as well)," Yadav noted.