Bihar government has ordered an inquiry into the pasting of stickers on the foreheads of persons injured in earthquake at Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) after the incident kicked up a row.

Baidyanath Sahni, minister in-charge for the district, who visited DMCH late last evening after the news of pasting "bhukamp" (earthquake) tags on foreheads of victims went viral, told today that he has asked the District Magistrate to conduct a probe. Stern action would be taken against the guilty on the basis of the probe report, he said.

Sahni, who has been appointed as minister in-charge for Darbhanga by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for better coordination of relief work, said by the time he visited the hospital late in the evening, the sticker had been removed from the foreheads. But, some of the injured narrated to him the pain caused by the tag put on their forehead, he said.

Television grabs yesterday showed injured patients in a separate ward of the DMCH, earmarked for earthquake victims, with stickers reading 'bhukamp' (earthquake) pasted on their foreheads which were later removed. DMCH Superintendent Jha expressed regret over the incident today.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi criticised the DMCH authorities for the "insulting" act. "They are victims of earthquake and not prisoners that tags were put on their bodies," Sushil Modi, former Deputy Chief Minister told reporters at Patna Airport.

Instead, a colour code could have been used on the beds for identification instead of pasting sticker on their foreheads, he said.