Jamshedpur, Feb. 27: A mob of villagers held doctors and health officials hostage for over an hour in Ghatshila sub-division today over alleged distribution of medicine past its expiry date at a health camp.

The frenzied villagers confined nine health officials, including two government doctors of a primary health centre, in Badaghaat panchayat under Musaboni block in the camp, locked the gates and demanded action against the staff for distributing medicine past its expiry date to the villagers. The gate was unlocked and work resumed only after Musaboni block development officer (BDO) Manoj Kumar Ranjan intervened.

Sources said one of the villagers who had turned up for medical check-up was provided a file of Metronidazole tablets which allegedly mentioned July 2007 as the expiry date. He raised the matter before other villagers, who turned furious. Shouting slogans against health officials, villagers subsequently locked the health centre.

Anil Chandra Bhagat, who was leading the protesters, said administrative camps or health camps were meaningless and government officials should honour what they promise villagers.

“How can we rely on the medical team if the villagers are given medicines well past the expiry date?” said Bhagat.

As a result of the ruckus, the medical check-up stopped abruptly. Doctors at the camp panicked as the villagers started shouting, demanding action against officials in the health camp.

K.K. Sahgal, one of the doctors taken hostage, denied having given wrong medicine at the camp.

“The stock of medicine was new and had been issued from the district civil surgeon’s office. But the way the villagers were reacting was not proper,” he said.

The BDO, who was attending an administrative camp a little distance away from the health camp, rushed to the spot. Before resuming the check-up, he got the stock of medicines checked thoroughly with the villagers watching on.

Refusing to believe that the doctors and the medical staff had brought medicine past its expiry to the health camp, Ranjan alleged that it was a ploy of the villagers to pressurise the administration for giving out Indira Awas Yojanas to all the people.

“As it is not possible to give Indira Awas to each and every individual, villagers tried to mount pressure by resorting to the ugly tactic,” the BDO told The Telegraph.

Moreover, he said, the person who was reportedly given the medicine had not come forward.

“There were 33 types of medicines and the expiry dates of all these medicines were after December 2008. We found not a single case of medicine past its expiry from the stock of medicine,” said the BDO, adding that he would get the matter probed to find out how a single file of Metronidazole was given out at the camp.