The Drug Control Administration on Wednesday ordered the closure of Bharat Medical and General Stores opposite the Osmania General Hospital. The shop had allegedly sold wrong injections leading to the death of two patients in the hospital a fortnight ago. The shop's pharmacy licence had been already cancelled.

It may be recalled that the shop had sold Neovac, a muscle relaxant, instead of Voveran, a painkiller, which resulted in the death of two patients who had undergone an operation in the hospital. The police had arrested two staff nurses of the hospital and a worker of the medical shop, Akbar Khan, holding them responsible for the deaths.

While the nurses were charged with negligence of not verifying the injections before administering them to the two patients, Akbar was charged with supplying wrong medicine.

Subsequently two DCA officials inspected the shop owned by Mohd Mahmood Ali and found that no stock registers and purchase and sale slips were being maintained. Even the licensed pharmacist, Mahmood Ali, was not present while selling the medicines on November 21, which indirectly resulted in the deaths.

A showcause notice was issued to the owner and though the reply was shrouded in a veil of secrecy, the shopowner was asked to close down the shop on Wednesday.

The five-member expert commission of senior doctors, which was appointed to investigate the case and submit a report within 48 hours, is reported to have submitted its report holding both the nurses and the shop attendant guilty of negligence. The nurses are already under suspension. Meanwhile, the hospital superintendent, T Laxminarayana, has issued a circular asking the hospital doctors to prescribe only those medicines which are available in the hospital pharmacy.