Doctor arrested after 14 children die in MP from toxic cough syrup

Police have arrested a doctor for alleged negligence and registered a case against the manufacturer of a 'toxic' cough syrup after the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, officials said on Sunday.

The Madhya Pradesh government has banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup, with officials stating the drug samples have been found to contain a highly toxic substance.

Of the children who died, 11 were from Parasia sub-division, two from Chhindwara city and one from Chaurai tehsil.

The Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical, Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu), has been blamed for the death of 11 children in Parasia area of Chhindwara district, Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey told reporters.

A case has been registered at Parasia police station against the company and Dr Praveen Soni, who, despite being a government doctor here, was practising at a private clinic and prescribed the syrup, he said.

A special team from Kotwali police arrested Dr Soni from Rajpal Chowk in Chhindwara late Saturday night after the FIR was registered against him, the SP said.

The doctor has been booked for negligence and prescribing the medicine even after its adverse effects on children for nearly a month. The manufacturer had been charged as it was supplying contaminated syrup, as per the test report, Pandey told PTI.

The government on Sunday also suspended Dr Soni from service. He has been attached to the health department regional officer in Jabalpur, as per an order.

MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said strict action will be taken against those responsible.

The doctor and the company have been charged under sections 276 (adulteration of drugs - punishable with up to one year in jail) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder - carrying a maximum punishment of 10 years) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

They have also been booked under section 27A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which prescribes over 10 years' imprisonment or life term for using adulterated drugs causing death, according to police.

On Saturday, the government sanctioned a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the families of each of the 14 deceased children.

The Tamil Nadu drug control authorities, in their report dated October 2, declared the Coldrif syrup sample (Batch No SR-13; Mfg: May 2025; Exp: April 2027) manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, Kancheepuram, as adulterated because it contained diethylene glycol (48.6% w/v), a poisonous substance "which may render the contents injurious to health".

Following the report, the Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration issued instructions to stop further sale and distribution of Coldrif statewide and immediately seize any available stock for investigation under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. It also ordered that other products manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals be removed from sale pending testing.

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday banned Coldrif following reports of deaths in Madhya Pradesh and at least three similar fatalities in Rajasthan due to suspected kidney infections.

Samples from the affected children have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, while further tests on the syrup's adulteration and contamination are underway.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has also initiated risk-based inspections at the manufacturing units of 19 drugs, including cough syrups and antibiotics, across six states, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.