Bimal Gurung on Thursday walked inside the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan in Darjeeling and allegedly jumped the queue of waiting senior citizens as health officials broke protocol to administer Gurung him first Covid vaccine dose though vials were reserved only for people waiting for their second dose.

Gurung is 56 according to his voter card and is eligible for the ongoing vaccination but the manner in which health officials broke protocol to pamper the hill leader left many fuming.

According to the Centre’s guidelines, the second dose of Covaxin should be taken between 28 and 42 days of the first dose, and the second dose for Covishield should be taken between 28 and 56 days.

“Since time for the second dose is running out for many, we decided to administer only the second dose till April 30,” admitted a health official.

Some at the vaccination centre questioned why Gurung got his first dose. “What stopped health officials from telling him he is not eligible for vaccination today?” asked one.

Gurung could not be contacted but his Morcha faction’s second-in-command Roshan Giri said Gurung got his first jab. On the out-of-turn preferential treatment to Gurung, Giri said: “He was busy campaigning....He got time today so got vaccinated.”

Gurung’s rivals were quick to ridicule him. “This shows his real character. He is only bothered about himself,” said Keshav Raj Pokhrel, MLA candidate of the Morcha’s Binay Tamang faction.

The jab was administered to Gurung before noon. When this reporter spoke to chief medical officer of health, Darjeeling, Pralay Acharya, after 5pm, he said he was unaware of the incident.

“What is his age, who has given it I don’t know. Give me the data I shall take care of it…Give the data, his age and when he took the vaccine and if there is any discrepancy, I shall take care of it,” said Dr Acharya, without explaining what he would take “care of”.

Some health officials are trying to verify whether a nurse who had not been assigned at Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan was actually brought to administer the vaccine to Gurung.

“We have been caught by surprise by the development. We are trying to verify various details,” said a health official.