Balangir: Chief district medical officer Sugyanendra Mishra on Saturday suspended Gandharbaraj Deep, the shopkeeper of the central store at the district headquarters hospital here.

The officer's action came in the wake of expired drugs found in the store. Acting on preliminary findings, Mishra has also transferred three nurses from the hospital.

The three nurses who were deputed in the maternity and child health ward of the hospital are Deepikarani Chhatria, Subasini Kalsae and Ranjita Nag. The three have been charged with dereliction of duty and transferred to the rural pockets of the district.

The district headquarters hospital here hit the headlines after cases of expired saline were found administered to the patients in the maternity and child health ward on Wednesday. An inquiry is being conducted into the alleged incident.

Sources said Achyutananda Swain of Gandhinagar of the town admitted his five-year-old daughter in the MCH ward as she had fever. His daughter was administered a saline injection. Later in the evening, he found that the expiry date on the saline bottle was printed November 2017. He panicked and alerted other attendants in the ward, who checked their patients and found two more expired bottles. The attendants drew the attention of the ward-in-charge, who examined the saline bottles and got them removed. Soon after, the central store was found locked.

Mishra said: "The actions have been taken on the basis of preliminary findings. A joint committee is probing the case and will soon furnish a report. We will take stringent action against those found guilty."