Dr. Narendra John Camm and the Damoh Deception: Unmasking India's Fake Doctor problem

Introduction: The Damoh Case and Its Alarming Revelation

In early April 2025, the Madhya Pradesh police exposed a shocking case of medical fraud in Damoh district. A man known to the community as “Dr. Narendra John Camm,” claiming to be a cardiologist at the reputed Mission Hospital, turned out to be Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav — a man with no legitimate medical qualifications. Upon investigation, authorities discovered he had submitted a forged medical registration certificate, purportedly from the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council. His identification was the result of a complaint and internal hospital inquiry that raised doubts about his credentials and medical knowledge.

This case is not an isolated incident. It underscores a deeper, systemic failure in India’s medical regulatory ecosystem, where fake doctors routinely slip through the cracks, posing grave dangers to public health.

The Scope of the Problem: Fake Doctors Across India

Fake doctors are a persistent menace across India. According to a 2019 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), India has one of the highest numbers of unqualified medical practitioners — with about 57% of those practicing modern medicine not having formal medical training. The situation is especially dire in rural and semi-urban areas, where the shortage of licensed professionals allows quacks to operate freely, often unchecked.

In states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, thousands of fake doctors have been found running clinics, pharmacies, or posing as specialists. For example:

• In 2022, the Delhi Medical Council identified over 1,200 fake doctors in Delhi alone.

• In Maharashtra, a 2021 crackdown led to the arrest of over 400 individuals practicing with fake or expired licenses.

How Do Fake Doctors Thrive?

There are several systemic weaknesses that allow fake doctors to operate:

1. Lack of Centralized Verification: India lacks a single, real-time national database of registered medical practitioners. Medical councils function at the state level, and inter-state coordination is minimal.

2. Weak Regulation and Enforcement: While the National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) to ensure better governance, state medical councils still have inconsistent protocols for verifying documents. The current legal framework also lacks teeth — there are no strong punitive provisions under a central law for impersonating a doctor.

3. Shortage of Qualified Doctors: With just about 1 doctor for every 1,511 people (as against the WHO-recommended ratio of 1:1000), rural India is particularly vulnerable. This gap creates an opportunity for impostors to exploit communities desperate for medical care.

4. Public Unawareness: Many patients, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 towns, are unaware of the importance of checking a doctor’s registration or qualifications. They rely more on word-of-mouth reputation and affordability than documented credentials.

What the Law Says: Regulation of Medical Practice in India

India’s medical profession is now regulated by the National Medical Commission (NMC), which replaced the MCI in 2020 through the NMC Act. Key features include:

• State Medical Registers (SMRs) maintained by state councils.

• A National Medical Register (NMR) which is supposed to list all licensed practitioners across the country.

• Penalties for unlicensed practice under the Indian Medical Council Act (prior to 2020) were vague; the NMC Act now makes unauthorized practice a punishable offence under Section 34.

However, the implementation has been patchy. States do not consistently update the NMR, and background checks remain limited. The lack of digitization and interconnectivity among state councils further hampers verification.

Mission Hospital and the Role of Private Institutions

The Damoh case also exposes the lapses in private hospitals and clinics. Many private institutions, particularly mission and trust hospitals, fail to adequately vet the credentials of recruits. With little oversight and internal HR mechanisms that are often informal, fraudsters easily slip through the system — as seen with Yadav.

This negligence raises questions:

• Was his certificate ever verified with the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council?

• Why did it take so long for red flags to be noticed?

• What safeguards exist to prevent recurrence?

What Needs to Change: Recommendations for Reform

1. Digital, Centralized Medical Registry: The NMC must fast-track the development of an accessible, centralized, real-time National Medical Register, with integration of all state-level data.

2. Mandatory Employer Verification: Hospitals (public and private) must be mandated to verify a doctor’s registration directly with the state council before appointment, ideally through an online verification portal.

3. Public Access to Verification Tools: Patients should have a simple way to look up doctors' credentials via SMS, mobile apps, or online tools — similar to how vehicle registration can be verified.

4. Stringent Penalties for Fraud: The punishment for impersonating a doctor should be a cognizable, non-bailable offence with harsh penalties including imprisonment up to 10 years.

5. Health Awareness Campaigns: Public education on identifying qualified doctors and the risks of consulting unqualified practitioners can empower citizens.

Conclusion

The exposure of Narendra Yadav aka Dr. Narendra John Camm in Damoh is just one chapter in a larger narrative of systemic regulatory gaps and healthcare vulnerability in India. While the new NMC framework offers some hope for reform, implementation remains weak. Fake doctors exploit the fragile oversight mechanisms, endangering lives and eroding public trust. India must act decisively — with stronger enforcement, robust verification systems, and public awareness — to ensure that the people are not left at the mercy of medical impostors.