Unnao: Reports that 32 cataract patients had been operated on in torchlight at an Uttar Pradesh government facility have prompted the Unnao district administration to suspended its chief medical officer on Tuesday.

Purported visuals of the operations, conducted apparently during a power cut with the facility lacking a power backup, have gone viral on the social media.

Some relatives have complained that the patients were not provided with beds after the procedure and were made to lie on floors despite the cold.

"Taking serious note of the matter, the Uttar Pradesh government acted promptly and suspended CMO Rajendra Prasad," health minister Sidharth Nath Singh said.

He said the official in charge of the community health centre at Nawabganj too had been removed. The state health department has sought a report.

Uttar Pradesh has been hit by a series of medical scandals this year, with more than 30 infants dying in two days at a government hospital in Gorakhpur in August after the oxygen vendor stopped supplies over unpaid bills. PTI