Bhopal:
A fake doctor who operated on a former Speaker of Chhattisgarh-an operation that led to his death — has been in active in Madhya Pradesh. This time, at least seven deaths are being linked to him. All took place in over the last few months at Damoh’s Mission Hospital. The man has been arrested.
In 2006, the death of Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Rajendra Prasad Shukla during a surgery at a private hospital in Bilaspur had raised serious questions.
The man wielding the scalpel was accused of being a fraud. Nearly two decades later, the same name has resurfaced – this time in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh.
The man known to his patients as Dr N John Camm. supposedly a UK-returned cardiologist, turned out to be a resident of Dehradun with an unverifiable past, questionable degrees, and no cardiology registration.
Despite this, he was performing complex procedures at Damoh’s Mission Hospital, including angiographies and anioplasties.
The police said his Aadhaar card says his real name Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav. His qualifications — an MBBS from Andhra Pradesh, followed by multiple dubious MD and cardiology degrees from places as varied as Darjeeling, Calcutta, and the UK-none carrying verifiable registration numbers.
Yadav was hired through a placement agency and began treating heart patients under a fake identity.
According to the local authorities, he carried out 15 operations, which led to the death of seven patients.
The victims include Rahisa Begum, Mangal Singh, Budha Ahirwal, Israel Khan, and Dasonda Raikwar, All died within hours of undergoing procedures allegedly conducted by him.
The gravity of the scandal surfaced when families of victims like Rahisa Begum and Mangal Singh came forward.
Rahisa, who had chest pain on January 12, underwent surgery three days later and died within hours. “As soon as my mother died, the doctor vanished,” said her son, Nabi Qureshi.
Mangal Singh, brought in with gastric complaints, was also operated on and died the same day. “They didn’t even give the injection they had ordered. When we demanded a postmortem examination, the hospital insisted it wasn’t necessary and handed us the body,” alleged his son, Jitendra Singh.
In some cases, the families claim they were not even shown the prescribed injections or medicines. In others, the hospital insisted on skipping postmortems. The logic — “What is the point now? The operation is done”.
Now a case has been registered.
Abhishek Tiwari, CSP, Damoh, said “CHMO (Chief Medical and Health Officer) Dr MK Jain has submitted a report stating that Dr. Narendra John Kem, employed at Mission Hospital, presented forged and fraudulent medical documents. The license he claimed to hold for medical practice was not registered. Investigations have revealed that he conducted angiographies and angioplasties without proper qualifications. Based on the findings and the suspicious nature of his documents, we have filed a case against him for forgery, fraud, and use of fabricated documents”.
Pushpa Khare, In-Charge Manager, Mission Hospital, said: “Dr. Narendra was appointed through IWUS, an agency registered with the Madhya Pradesh government. We had a contract with the company, under which 50 per cent of his monthly salary was to be paid to them”.
The agency, she said, was responsible for verifying the doctor’s credentials and documents.
“Dr Narendra also took away our portable echo machine, worth around 5 to 7 lakh rupees. We have filed a complaint regarding the theft,” she added.
Echoes of 2006: When a Speaker Died Under His Knife
This isn’t Narendra Yadav’s first brush with controversy. In 2006, he was named in connection with the death of Rajendra Prasad Shukla, then Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Assembly, who died during a surgery in Bilaspur’s Apollo Hospital.
At the time, Yadav was passed off as a reputed UK-based doctor. An inquiry was ordered then, but no lasting action followed.
Today, with new deaths linked to him, questions are being raised: Why wasn’t he blacklisted? How was he allowed to practice again?
Justice (Retd.) Anil Shukla, a family member of the late Speaker, said:
“We found out even back then that he was not qualified. If the system had acted then, so many innocent lives could have been saved today”.
“My father underwent surgery, and I was present at the time. I grew suspicious when the catheter had to be repeatedly inserted. Later, others also told us the doctor was a fraud. But Apollo Hospital introduced him as a ‘London-returned’ expert and praised him so much that we had no choice but to believe. Now, the government must take suo motu cognizance of this and order an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge so that justice can be served to the victims,” he added.
Dr Pramod Tiwari, CMHO, Bilaspur said: “I have sent a team to investigate the matter and called for all documents. If he was practicing without proper registration, it is a very serious matter.”
Devesh Gopal, an executive from Apollo Bilaspur, said, “This is a very old case, around 18 to 19 years old. We will only be able to provide details after verifying the relevant documents. What steps were taken at that time will become clear after reviewing the paperwork.”
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said action will be taken against all those found responsible. “No one will be spared,” he said.
