Who is 'N John Camm', fake doctor linked to 7 deaths in Madhya Pradesh?

The accused, Narendra Yadav, who had been appropriating the identity of a renowned British cardiologist, is now absconding

Seven people have died in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district after allegedly undergoing treatment by a man posing as a cardiologist. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has launched an investigation into the case, which centres around one Narendra Yadav, who is accused of impersonating Professor John Camm, a renowned cardiologist based in London.

 

Yadav reportedly performed surgeries at Mission Hospital in Damoh under the false identity of “Dr N John Camm”. The District Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr Mukesh Jain, confirmed that a report on the matter has been submitted to District Collector Sudhir Kochar, though the total number of victims has not yet been disclosed.

 

 

What happened in Damoh?

 

A local lawyer Deepak Tiwari, president of the district's Child Welfare Committee, told The Hindu that Narendra Yadav performed various cardiac surgeries resulting in seven deaths. However, he suspected the actual number could be higher.

 

Tiwari stated that the committee had received a complaint from a patient in February who expressed doubts about a doctor at Mission Hospital, stating that the doctor was unable to conduct diagnosis properly.

 

When the panel began investigating the matter, Yadav fled the area, Tiwari said. The committee's investigation has confirmed seven fatalities thus far.

 

"When hospital documents were examined during the investigation, it was discovered that a man named Narendra Yadav had assumed the identity of a London-based doctor to work here," he added. 

 

Who is the real Dr John Camm?

 

The real Professor John Camm is an emeritus professor of clinical cardiology at St George’s University of London. He confirmed to fact-checking website BOOM that his identity was being misused by Yadav, who also operated a website under the name njohncamm.com and ran a Twitter account under the handle @njohncamm, which has now been suspended.

 

Yadav, using this fake persona, gained traction in July 2023 after tweeting that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath could control the riots in France “within 24 hours." The tweet was widely shared by Indian news channels, some of which later deleted their posts after questions arose about the account's authenticity. 

 

Past controversies

 

Numerous medical professionals had already raised suspicions about N John Camm’s legitimacy, highlighting grammatical errors and misspellings of prestigious institutions and established doctors under whom he claims to have trained.

 

Dr Rohin Francis, a consultant cardiologist, shared his observations and findings about N John Camm in a series of tweets on X. Francis uncovered poorly edited photographs of N John Camm allegedly taken in India, along with a profile banner featuring a fictional building complex, purported to be the planned N John Camm Institute in Rajasthan, scheduled to open in 2027.

 

N John Camm's website contained many typographical errors and referenced a period spent at St George's Hospital in London, where the real Professor John Camm practices cardiology.

 

NHRC to launch investigation

 

"A complaint was filed alleging that an unqualified doctor conducted heart surgeries resulting in multiple fatalities. Reports also indicated that the missionary hospital claimed funds from the government through the Ayushman Bharat program," NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo told news agency ANI.

 

"This constitutes a serious accusation. The commission is acknowledging this matter and continuing its investigation," Kanoongo added.