WASHINGTON: A psychiatrist of Indian-origin dubbed 'Dr Death' by the police, has been arrested in the US after 36 of his patients died, with at least 12 killed by overdose on prescription medication.
Narendra Nagareddy, a psychiatrist in Clayton County, Georgia, has been put behind bars on suspicion of over-prescribing prescription medication and running a 'pill mill'. Almost 40 federal and local agents raided his offices, later moving on to his home to seize more assets. “He's a psychiatrist in Jonesboro who has been over-prescribing opiates and benzodiazepine and the last several years has had a multitude of overdoses and overdose deaths,” Clayton County Police Chief Mike Register said.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Clayton County District Attorney's office, the Clayton County Police Department and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, converged on Nagareddy's office, armed with a search warrant and an arrest warrant for the psychiatrist. Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said, “He's charged with prescribing pain medication which is outside his profession as a psychiatrist and not for legitimate purpose for the patient.”
As per legal documents, “thirty six of Nagareddy's patients have died while being prescribed controlled substances from Dr Nagareddy, 12 of which have been confirmed by investigators through autopsy reports to have been the result of prescription drug intoxication.” “Former and current patients have admitted to obtaining controlled substance prescriptions from Dr Nagareddy without having a legitimate medical need,” the documents said. “People come to this person for help, and instead of getting help, they're met with deadly consequences,” Clayton County Police Chief Register was quoted as saying.
