Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Police Monday arrested Dr. N. John Camm, who is accused of impersonating a British interventionist cardiologist, from Uttar Pradesh after a probe raised questions over the authenticity of his degree. He was being investigated after the alleged deaths of seven patients at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh.
Damoh Superintendent of Police Shrut Kirti Somavanshi told ThePrint, “The Dr. N John Camm has been arrested from Prayagraj in UP. He had been staying in a society there in a flat for at least the past month. We are trying to ascertain if that has been his permanent residence.” The SP further said that he was being brought back to Damoh.
Dr. N. John Camm, who identified himself as an interventionist cardiologist associated with Klinikum Nürnberg Hospital in Germany and a member of the UK’s Royal College of Physicians, was arrested after an investigation by District Medical Officer M.K. Jain found that his medical degree did not have a registration number.
The Madhya Pradesh Police began probing the role and authenticity of Dr Camm after Deepak Tiwari, a lawyer who is also in charge of the district child welfare committee, submitted a written application to the SP requesting an investigation into the credentials of Dr N. John Camm, following complaints from local residents.
Tiwari alleged that at least seven people had died under the watch of Dr Camm at Damoh’s Mission hospital, where he practised for over a month.
Tiwari further alleged that this doctor was actually a local man by the name Narendra Yadav, who was using the identity of Dr A. John Camm, a UK-based interventionist. He allegedly prescribed expensive medicines to patients coming to hospital to avail benefits from the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme.
According to senior police officials from Damoh, based on the complaints received, the investigation was initially handed over to the district medical officer along with two other doctors from Damoh government hospital.
Jain’s investigation found that Camm had submitted his certificates with a medical registration number issued by the Andhra Pradesh medical council, however, the official website did not show any doctor registered with that name under the registration number 153427. Based on these findings, Jain said that it prima facie appeared to be a fraudulent registration number.
In his inquiry report, Jain also highlighted that “no doctor can practise in Madhya Pradesh without being registered with Madhya Pradesh Medical Council and no records were submitted by the Mission Hospital to establish that Dr. N. John Camm was a registered doctor with MP Medical Council”.
Based on this report, Camm was booked under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 318 (4) (cheating), 338 (forgery of important documents), 336 (3) (forgery with intent to deceive), and 340 (2) (use of forged documents) and 3(5) (joint criminal liability).
The Damoh district administration earlier also roped in Jabalpur Medical College to look into the alleged deaths of the seven patients. So far, according to senior officials of district administration, of the seven cases, three cases appear to be such where Dr. N. John Camm was in charge of the treatment. Those cases were being closely scrutinised for medical negligence. Based on the findings of the medical panel, further course of action will be taken, they added.
According to Mission Hospital administration, Camm was employed on 1 January through a third-party agency registered by the MP government agency identified as IWUS.
Speaking to the media Monday, public relations officer Pushpa Khare said, “As per the agreement signed between the hospital and the agency, 50 percent of the salary given to Dr. N. John Camm would be paid to the agency and it would be the agency’s responsibility to ensure the authenticity of the documents of the doctor. Dr. N. John Camm worked at Mission Hospital between 1 January to 13 February.”
Khare further said that Camm always maintained that if he did not like the life in a small city, then he could move away. “He never officially informed about leaving, and suddenly left around 12 February.”
Khare said he took a portable echo machine, which cost between 5 to 7 lakh, with him, and when the hospital did not get a satisfactory reply from the doctor, it informed the Damoh Kotwali police station about the missing machine.
According to police, they are also looking into the role of the agency in the accused’s appointment at the Mission Hospital but have so far not been able to get any more details about this agency.
The Mission Hospital is operated by Dr. Ajay Lal, who also ran a Bal Bhawan in Damoh, which was under the scanner of the National Human Rights Commission for allegations of tribal children being forced to convert to Christianity. Lal was booked for human trafficking and religious conversion but was given bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court last year.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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