Commotion prevailed at the directorate for health services in the state capital on Friday afternoon as a team armed with an order of the Kolkata High Court arrived to attach assets due to non-payment of claims amounting to over Rs 19 crore.

Unruly scenes were witnessed as officials and employees fought off attempts to seize the properties belonging to the health department.

The Kolkata High Court had ordered the attachment of assets after the directorate had failed to clear dues over the purchase of insecticides from a Kolkata based company in 2013.

Though the original order was valued at Rs 50.7 lakhs, non-payment had resulted in penalties and interest taking the amount to Rs 19.34 crores.

The legal representatives of the Kolkata based supplier however had to turn back after a lady officer present at the office told the legal team that there was no designated post for a health director at the premises hence legally the properties could not be attached.

The company lawyer, Purnashish Bhuiya, later said that the matter will be brought to the notice of the district court, and the company will seek police protection to execute the order."We were here to execute the seizure.

However, the officer, Mallika Nigam Nagar, said that there is no post of 'Director of Health' here, thus preventing us from executing the seizure. We removed a few items and were given a written statement that this is not the Director of Health's office. The court has ordered the recovery of Rs 19.34 crore for the items, including the Rs 50.7 lakh worth of insecticides purchased from the company," said Bhuiya.