Court denies bail plea of Fake Cardiologist in medical fraud case

Bhopal: Noting that the case even extended beyond national borders, linking to international countries, a session court in Damoh district has recently rejected the bail plea of fake UK-based cardiologist, Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav aka 'Dr John Camm' and extended his police remand by four more days.

The ruling was delivered by Fifth Civil Judge Riya Singh, who agreed with the prosecution’s argument that more time was necessary for detailed interrogation. The court found the evidence presented compelling enough to warrant further custody.

Advocate Sachin Nayak, representing the accused, had opposed the remand extension and subsequently moved a bail application. On the other hand, ADPO Sanjay Rawat, representing the state, argued that the case extends beyond national borders, with links to multiple countries.

Also read- Apollo Hospital gets notice over fake cardiologist linked to multiple deaths

The state's counsel sought more time for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the police to probe the matter thoroughly to collect evidence from various international sources.

Upholding the state counsel's arguments, the court granted his extension, dismissing his bail plea. The SIT is expected to present Yadav in court again on April 17, reports TOI.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the fake cardiologist was arrested based on a complaint by Damoh district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), MK Jain after a former speaker of the Chhattisgarh assembly and 7 other patients lost their lives following a botched cardiac surgery at Apollo Hospital in Bilaspur and Missionary Hospital in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, respectively.

In his complaint, CMHO Jain alleged Dr Camm had committed fraud by performing angiography and angioplasty on patients at the Mission Hospital without being registered with the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council.

The accused, whose real name is believed to be Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, is said to have used the identity of a real doctor from the UK named 'Dr John Camm'. He pretended to be a skilled and experienced heart specialist with a medical degree from the UK and used this fake identity to treat patients in India.

Recently, the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Bilaspur issued a notice to Apollo Hospital seeking detailed information about Yadav’s connection with the hospital.

Plagiarized research

Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, aka 'Dr John Camm', not only fooled patients and hospital authorities but also managed to steal the research work of others and claimed it as his own.

According to India Today's Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team, at least two of Yadav’s research papers, published in 2020 and 2022, were copied almost entirely from earlier works. The content, diagrams, and charts were taken from papers originally published in 2016 and 2011.

The copied papers were published in two peer-reviewed journals which including the International Journal of Medical Science and Diagnosis Research, based in Jaipur, and the US-based Biomedical and Translational Science.

Yadav’s ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), which tracks researchers and their publications, lists five papers under his name from 2020 to 2023. Out of these, four papers mention Klinikum Nurnberg Hospital in Germany as his contact address.

In an online resume, Yadav, using the name N John Camm, also claimed that he was still working with the same hospital.

However, when India Today contacted Klinikum Nurnberg Hospital, they said that neither any person named N John Camm nor Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav ever worked with them.

Dream for Padma Awards

The Padma Awards are awarded to individuals, both citizens and non-citizens, who have made distinguished contributions in various fields, including art, literature, education, science, social service, and public affairs.

However, for a conman like Yadav, the ambition to receive a Padma Award seems both unrealistic and astonishing. What’s even more surprising is that a woman nominated him for the honour without being aware of his criminal background and involvement in medical fraud.

In 2020, a woman named Divya Rawat (a non-resident Indian) recommended “Narendra John Camm” for the Padma Awards, as per records available at the Home Ministry website, reported India Today. The application listed Delhi as his place of residence.

Government rules allow any citizen to recommend a deserving person for the Padma Awards through the official Padma Awards portal. The portal allows users to upload supporting documents and evidence of the nominee's work.

Also read- Fake Cardiologist held, linked to Ex-Chhattisgarh Speaker's death