Man posing as UK doctor held in India after fatal surgeries

Police in India have arrested a man accused of impersonating a British doctor. He allegedly performed surgeries that led to the deaths of seven patients.

Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, also known as Dr N John Camm, worked as a cardiologist. He was employed at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh state.

Authorities accuse him of fraud, cheating, and forgery. They allege that the 53-year-old faked his medical degrees. Investigators are looking into claims that he used the name of Prof John Camm to gain credibility. Mr. Yadav has denied all allegations against him.

On Monday, just hours before his arrest, he sent a legal notice to two dozen individuals. The notice demanded 50 million rupees ($5.8 million) for claiming he impersonated another cardiologist.

The Mission Hospital in Damoh city denied knowing about his alleged fake credentials. A hospital official stated that nobody suspected him of being a fake doctor. "He was good at his job and acted like a big-time professor," the official told The Indian Express newspaper.

The case came to light in February when a child welfare committee flagged patient deaths to district officials. Deepak Tiwari, president of the district Child Welfare Committee, said they became suspicious about his expertise after checking his credentials online.

An investigation revealed that Mr. Yadav had quit his job earlier that month and "gone missing." He was arrested on Monday evening in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state.

"The accused doctor had worked on 64 cases, including 45 angioplasties," said police chief Shrut Kirti Somvanshi. These procedures led to seven patient deaths.

It is unclear whether Mr. Yadav's degrees are genuine or fake. Police believe they are likely forged due to missing key details like unique registration numbers.

This is not the first time questions have arisen about Mr. Yadav's identity. In a 2019 blog post, he claimed training in the UK under Prof A John Camm and joining St George's Hospital in 2002 as an interventional cardiologist.

He stated he returned to India in 2003 to work at a leading heart hospital in Delhi and had experience working abroad since then.

In one post from 2021, Mr. Yadav claimed he was developing a large medical institute in Rajasthan under Prof Camm’s leadership.

He described it as covering over 100 acres with world-class research facilities and tissue labs.

Public records show he registered four companies in the UK under Dr Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav's name in 2018 but later changed it to Dr Narendra John Camm.

In 2023, an Indian fact-checker raised questions about his credentials after he created an X (formerly Twitter) account under "Prof N John Camm." The real Prof Camm clarified that it was not his account and that he was being impersonated.

Police say Mr. Yadav has been involved in several other investigations as well. In 2019, he was arrested for allegedly abducting a British doctor invited to work with him at a Hyderabad hospital.

In 2014, India's medical regulators banned him for five years due to professional misconduct according to parliamentary records. Records also show charges of fraud and cheating against him from 2013; however, those complaints were stayed by a court.