India, Oct. 22 -- More than 11,000 tablets of Buprenorphine, a narcotic-grade drug used for pain relief and in de-addiction therapy, have been stolen from the Civil Hospital in Moga, police said on Wednesday.

Senior medical officer Dr Harinder Sood said the Buprenorphine stock was kept in the hospital's store room along with other medicines. "When the staff opened the store on Tuesday morning, they found the stock missing. The locks had been broken, and we immediately informed the police," he said.

Sources in the hospital said that the store room lacked CCTV surveillance and security guards, raising questions about safety and oversight.

Civil surgeon Pardeep Mahindra sought an action-taken report from the SMO, directing a detailed inqu...