POLICE in India have arrested a man accused of impersonating a London-based cardiologist, following the deaths of seven patients.
The man was practising at Mission Hospital, a private facility in Madhya Pradesh, and has been charged with cheating and forgery, police superintendent Shrutkirti Somvanshi told reporters.
"His documents have been found to be fake... The accused doctor has been arrested by our team," Somvanshi said.
The man gave his name as "Narendra John Camm", which was listed on the hospital’s website in Hindi.
A mugshot published in local media showed him with bleached yellow hair.
The arrest came after the National Human Rights Commission began an investigation into the deaths of seven patients at the hospital this year. All seven patients had undergone angioplasty surgeries performed by the accused.
Local media reported that the man had been impersonating John Camm, a cardiologist based in the UK and emeritus professor at St George's University of London.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the real John Camm. Speaking to AFP, Camm said the case had been "very disconcerting".'
He said the man had "claimed at various times to both be me, and to have been trained by me at St George's Hospital in London".
Camm added that he and his colleagues had tried to stop the impersonator over the past five years.
"I discovered that there was little that I could do about it, but younger colleagues, who were active on social media on the internet did their best," he wrote from London.
"Indian physicians and cardiologists quickly rumbled that this man has nothing to do with me and attempted to 'shut him down'."
Camm said the reports about the impersonator had recently become "relatively quiet", and he believed efforts to stop him had worked.
He said news of the arrest was "upsetting to me and probably much more so to the relatives of patients" who may have suffered.
Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister Rajendra Shukla said strict action would be taken against the man if he is found guilty.
The case came to light after the family of one of the deceased patients raised a complaint.
"As soon as my mother died, the doctor vanished," her son Nabi Qureshi told broadcaster NDTV.
Reports of fake doctors are common in India, particularly in rural areas. Authorities have taken action in recent years by raiding clinics and making arrests.
(With inputs from AFP)
