Cough Syrup

MP in 2025: Union Carbide waste burnt 41 yrs on, toxic syrup killed 24 kids

Madhya Pradesh reached significant milestones in 2025, with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declaring the state Naxal-free after decades of Maoist violence, while the year also saw the long-awaited disposal of toxic Union Carbide waste, and the tragic death of 24 kids due to a contaminated cough syrup. The state observed 2025 as Industry Year and organized Global Investors Summit (GIS) for the first time in Bhopal, positioning itself as a top investment destination. The government focused on promoting tourism, especially in religious and wildlife sectors. Already enjoying the status of a tiger state', Madhya Pradesh will also be home to a third habitat for cheetahs - which will come up in Sagar district. Forty-one years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide factory was moved out and incinerated at a facility in Pithampur industrial town near Indore, a months-long process which saw opposition from local residents and environmentalists.

No cough syrup deaths in UP, action to be taken under NDPS Act: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday strongly rebutted allegations by Leader of the Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey over "deaths" due to consumption of fake medicines and codeine syrup, asserting in the Assembly that no such case has come to the notice of the state government so far. He said that cases related to illegal diversion of the syrup were being pursued under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the state government had successfully defended its stand in court. Replying to the issue raised by the opposition as soon as the House proceedings began, Adityanath said the matter appeared to be politically motivated. "When an issue is raised unnecessarily, one is reminded of the saying 'Chor ke dadhi me tinka' (a guilty person feels the prick of straw in his beard)," he remarked. The chief minister said "there is not a single case of death due to fake drugs reported in Uttar Pradesh till date," and added that enforcement agencies remain ..

Cough syrup case: ED raids expose lavish Lucknow home of ex-constable

From ornate European-style interiors and spiral staircases to vintage lighting and a trove of luxury items, the Enforcement Directorate's raid on the Lucknow home of a dismissed police constable arrested in the codeine-laced cough syrup case has left officials stunned. The Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested constable Alok Pratap Singh, who has been dismissed from service twice, on December 2. His name cropped up during the interrogation of another accused, Amit Kumar Singh alias Amit Tata, in the ongoing probe into an illegal codeine-laced cough syrup racket. He is currently lodged in Lucknow jail. The two-storey mansion sprawls over nearly 7,000 square feet in Ahmamau near the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway. Towering pillars line the facade, ornate railings adorn the wide balconies, and inside, cream-painted walls with decorative accents set off the high-end fittings. Luxury items seized during the ED raid on Friday include handbags of Prada and Gucci, premium Rado ...

ED raids 25 sites across states in probe into UP illegal cough syrup racket

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided multiple locations in various states as part of a money laundering investigation against an alleged illegal cough syrup trade racket in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The searches are covering 25 premises in Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh apart from those located in Ranchi and Ahmedabad, they said. The federal probe agency has booked a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe the alleged illegal trade. Locations linked to absconding main accused Shubham Jaiswal and his alleged associates Alok Singh, Amit Singh and some others, cough syrup manufacturers and a Chartered Accountant (CA) Vishnu Aggarwal are being raided, according to ED officials. The ED action is based on about 30 UP Police FIRs that were registered after the state government took cognisance of incidents related to misuse of codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS), their illegal manufacturing, trade and transport ...

Cough syrup deaths: ED attaches assets of Coldrif promoter in Chennai

Two flats in Chennai belonging to the promoter of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Coldrif cough syrup linked to the death of at least 20 children in Madhya Pradesh, have been attached under the anti-money laundering law, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday. The assets, located at Kodambakkam in Tamil Nadu's capital city, are owned by G Ranganathan and his family members, it said in a statement. The value of the flats is Rs 2.04 crore, the statement said. Ranganathan was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in October. The agency alleged Sresan Pharma indulged in "rampant unfair trade practices to suppress its manufacturing costs and increase profits which are nothing but proceeds of crime (under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act)." Probe found that the manufacturer used industry-grade raw materials in the manufacturing of medicines instead of pharma-grade raw materials "without" proper quality checks. "Such materials were being purchased in cash without ..

Cough syrup case: 4th man arrested from Lucknow for illegal storage, trade

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force arrested a man from Lucknow on Tuesday in connection with illegal storage and trade of banned cough syrup and other drugs containing codeine, police said. According to a statement issued by the office of the Director General of Police, the Special Task Force (STF) had been receiving information about the illegal storage and trade of Phensedyl cough syrup and other drugs containing codeine for use as intoxicants. The informants revealed that these drugs were being sent to other parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh. Following this, the STF and the Food Safety and Pharmaceuticals Department formed a joint investigation committee, which subsequently recovered a large quantity of illicit Phensedyl cough syrup. A case was registered at Sushant Golf City police station following this. During investigation, the STF arrested two accused, Vibhor Rana and Vishal Singh, on November 12. Another accused, Am

CDSCO committee considers avoiding high-risk solvents in kids' oral drugs

Following the Chhindwara cough syrup tragedy, a CDSCO committee has advised consultations to phase out high-risk solvents in oral formulations

Case filed against 28 drug dealers in Varanasi for smuggling spurious syrup

A case has been registered against 28 drug dealers, including a father-son duo, in Varanasi for allegedly smuggling codeine-laced cough syrup for intoxication, police said on Monday. They said that an investigation by the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department revealed that Shubham Jaiswal, a resident of Prahlad Ghat, Varanasi, and his father, Bholanath Prasad, supplied large quantities of the banned adulterated syrup to 26 Varanasi-based businessmen from their Ranchi-based firm, Shaili Traders. Subsequently, a case was registered on Saturday based on a complaint lodged by Drug Inspector Junab Ali in Varanasi, police said. In the complaint, the drug inspector mentioned that, following the discovery that Shaili Traders had been selling large quantities of codeine-laced cough syrup in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, the 26 Varanasi-based firms were inspected, and several were found to be closed. Calls to the numbers available on the firms' portals were

Public alert issued over toxic DEG impurity in cough syrup: Haryana min

Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao on Saturday said the government has issued a public health alert following the detection of diethylene glycol (DEG) impurity above permissible limits in a cough syrup formulation. The alert has been issued on the basis of an official communication received from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's (CDSCO) sub-zonal office in Guwahati by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Haryana. In an official statement, the minister informed that the cough syrup formulation -- "Planokuf D" syrup containing cetirizine hydrochloride, phenylephrine hydrochloride and dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and manufactured by Shreya Lifesciences Private Limited -- has been found to contain DEG impurity beyond permissible limits. The affected batch, bearing number R25053101, was manufactured in February and is set to expire in January 2027. The product has been declared adulterated and Not of Standard Quality (NSQ), the statement said. The minister said

Cough syrup tragedy: SIT arrests wife of accused Dr Praveen Soni

The SIT investigating the cough syrup tragedy that claimed the lives of 24 children in Madhya Pradesh has arrested the wife of accused Dr Praveen Soni, an official said on Tuesday. Chhindwara-based Dr Soni, who allegedly prescribed the contaminated cough syrup 'Coldrif' to most of the ailing kids, was arrested last month for alleged negligence in connection with the child deaths due to kidney failure. His wife Jyoti Soni, another accused in the case, was arrested from her residence in Parasia town of Chhindwara district on Monday night, Sub Divisional Office of Police and Special Investigation Team (SIT) in-charge Jitendra Jaat said. She is the proprietor of a medical shop from where the cough syrup was sold to several victims, the official said. So far, seven persons have been arrested in connection with the cough syrup tragedy, he added. Following the child deaths, the Tamil Nadu government revoked the licence of the cough syrup manufacturing company, Sresan Pharma. Those arres

CDSCO flags cough syrup as spurious, 112 drugs fail quality tests

The central drug regulator found one spurious cough syrup and 112 substandard formulations during its September 2025 checks, triggering detailed scrutiny

Cough syrup deaths: CDSCO launches digital tracker for high-risk solvents

The regulator's ONDLS-based monitoring platform will track supply chains and quality of solvents used in drug manufacturing following child deaths linked to toxic cough syrups

India still has a long way to go in curbing toxic cough syrup, says WHO

The children died after taking the Coldrif cough medicine made by Sresan Pharma, which tests showed contained the toxin diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit

Centre refuses deadline extension for pharma firms after Coldrif deaths

The decision to turn down requests from drug manufacturers for more time came after it was highlighted that Sresan Pharmaceutical, the company that produced Coldrif, did not upgrade its facilities

After cough syrup tragedy, MP hospital under lens over worms in medicine

Amid child deaths linked to a toxic cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh, a government hospital here is now facing a complaint over worms allegedly found in a bottle of antibiotic medicine given to a child, officials said on Thursday. Following a complaint by a woman whose child was given the medicine, the entire stock of Azithromycin antibiotic at the government hospital in Morar town of Gwalior district has been sealed and samples have been sent to a laboratory in Bhopal for testing, they said. Azithromycin antibiotic's oral suspension is commonly given to children for various infections. According to officials, the medicine was generic and manufactured by a Madhya Pradesh-based company. Drug inspector Anubhuti Sharma said, "A woman at the government hospital in Morar complained of worms in a bottle of Azithromycin oral suspension." Although the bottle of medicine that the woman had brought was open, the matter was immediately investigated, she said. All 306 bottles of this medicine,

WHO issues alert against 3 cough syrups linked to MP children's deaths

CDSCO had earlier informed the global health body that none of the syrups were exported to other countries

Death in a bottle: Toxic cough syrups once again prove fatal for children

Toxic cough syrups have once again proven fatal for children. This time, the tragedy has happened in India. Here's a look at why this sordid tale never seems to let up

WHO alert on 3 'toxic' syrups: Which pharma companies are under the scanner?

The World Health Organization has issued a global alert after identifying three toxic cough syrups in India that have been linked to the deaths of several children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

WHO alert on cough syrups, Haryana IPS office suicide, Bihar assembly polls & more top

The World Health Organisation has issued an alert on three substandard cough syrups made in India- Coldrif, Respifresh TR, and ReLife. This comes after at least 22 children died in Madhya Pradesh

WHO warns against three Indian cough syrups including deadly Coldrif

The WHO identified specific batches of Coldrif (Sresan Pharmaceuticals), ReLife (Shape Pharma), and Respifresh TR (Rednex Pharmaceuticals) as contaminated