Murshidabad, Jan. 22: A soiree with a dozen loudspeakers blaring film music was held next to a hospital last night with the permission of the subdivisional officer and the blessings of the local police station.

After over 40 patients of the Lalbag hospital spent a sleepless night, subdivisional officer Ajay Sannamat said he “didn’t know” that it was located so close to the venue when he gave the show his go-ahead. “The organisers were supposed to follow the norms and prevent noise pollution. If they have failed to do it, I will take strong action against them,” he said today.

Six-year-old Piyush Karmakar, who was admitted to the subdivisional hospital with chest pain four days ago and was diagnosed with a heart disease, begged his mother to take him home as he tossed and turned in bed last night. A dose of sedatives couldn’t beat the din outside, said Piyush’s mother, a resident of Lalbag, about 220 km from Calcutta.

When the hospital authorities were about to lodge a complaint, they came to know that the subdivisional officer had granted permission for it and the inspector in charge of the local Murshidabad police station had inaugurated it.

The medical officer in charge of the hospital, Goutam Pal, lodged a complaint with the district chief medical officer of health today.

The law bars such a programme within 300 metres of a hospital.

Inspector Sanjiv Dey, who attended last night’s show, said that he was not scheduled to inaugurate it. “The organisers requested me to deliver a speech so I went on stage to urge residents to maintain order during the soiree,” he added.