A Disaster in White Jackets: The Shocking Story of a Phony Doctor and Institutional Failure

In a horrifying testament to how loopholes in the health care system can be fatal, the Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav alias Dr. N John Kamm case shocked public confidence in medical institutions as well as regulatory agencies. Posing as a UK-trained cardiologist, Yadav not only gained entry into Damoh's Mission Hospital without a valid license but actually conducted 15 operations in a span of 45 days, seven of which proved fatal.

This is not just a case of impersonation—this is a full-blown failure in due diligence, an epic story of fraudulent degrees, stolen devices, and brazen institutional negligence by the very institutions that were meant to guard patients.

NDTV's investigation exposes the gross fraud. A non-medico with forged degrees, hijacked identities, and even a personal bodyguard, Yadav roamed the hospital corridors freely. He allegedly robbed a portable echo machine valued at ₹5–7 lakh, his forged degrees were MBBS from North Bengal Medical College and DM (Cardiology) from Pondicherry University. Greater scrutiny exposed blatant discrepancies—one of the registration numbers was of a woman, and there was no record of the qualifications he claimed.

This is not the first deception done by Yadav. As early as 2006, he was said to have conducted surgeries at Apollo Hospital, Bilaspur—one of them the then-Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker—after presenting himself as a London-returned specialist. Eight patients are said to have died in that time. No action appears to have been taken. That's not just negligence—that's institutional complicity.

The question that haunts us now is: How did this man fool the system not once, but repeatedly over nearly two decades?

How many hospitals hired him without verifying his credentials?

How many families lost loved ones under his knife, trusting in a system that promised care but delivered catastrophe?

The authorities have finally come into action. The Chief Medical and Health Officer of Damoh is under suspicion. Notifications have been served to hospitals. Agencies who hired him will also be asked questions. But these are posthumous measures, too little, too late for the families who've already endured irreversible losses.

This is not a case of Narendra Yadav alone. It is a case of each loophole in our healthcare system that enabled him to flourish. From medical councils that do not check registrations, to hospitals that value resumes over actual checks, and recruitment agencies that fail at background checks, this is a systemic decay that needs to be corrected with urgency.

There has to be something more than arrests and headlines. There has to be accountability, regulatory overhaul, and a demand for countrywide audits of doctors' credentials, particularly in rural and semi-urban medical institutions. We cannot spare another Yadav in a white coat.

For behind every phony degree is not only fraud. It is the quiet assassination of trust—and sometimes, of patients themselves.