Patna, April 17: Medicine shortage in government hospitals rocked the Assembly today.

Prem Kumar of the BJP raised the matter during Zero Hour after the government refused to give a statement and BJP MLAs stormed into the Well of the House demanding a probe into the medicine purchase scam. Parliamentary affairs minister Shrawan Kumar accused the Opposition of trying to disrupt the House. Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary adjourned the House.

During Question Hour, Prem Kumar alleged that medicines from 10 pharmaceutical firms were distributed in labs without testing. Health minister Ramdhani Singh denied the charge and said the question of a CBI probe did not arise, as there was no scam.

Nand Kishore Yadav told reporters the medicines disappeared from government hospitals after the medicine purchase scam was exposed. "According to a report by district civil surgeons, of 112 medicines meant for free distribution, only seven are available in Bettiah, 16 in Jehanabad district hospital and 17 in Chhapra and Khagaria districts. Even in Nitish Kumar's district of Nalanda, just 24 medicines are available," he said.

In reply to a question by BJP's Mahendra Baitha, Ramdhani said he had ordered a probe into the death of a patient at a private hospital in Patna. The patient died eight hours after he was admitted to hospital on March 31, complaining of chest pain. But the hospital authorities presented his kin a Rs 2 lakh bill, which they later reduced by Rs 50,000.