The Madhya Pradesh police have arrested S Ranganathan, owner of the Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceutical company that manufactured Coldrif cough syrup, linked to the deaths of 20 children in the state, officials said on Thursday.
According to Chhindwara Superintendent of Police (SP), Ranganathan will be produced before a court in Chennai and later brought to Chhindwara on a transit remand for further investigation.
Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla confirmed on Wednesday that 20 children had died after consuming the contaminated cough syrup, while five others remain under treatment.
“20 children have lost their lives in the unfortunate incident from Chhindwara, Betul, and Pandhurna districts. The state government is quite strict. The police teams from Chhindwara have reached Chennai and Kanchipuram to arrest the owner of Coldrif manufacturing company, and strict action is being taken into the matter,” Shukla told reporters.
Of the 20 victims, 17 were from Chhindwara, two from Betul, and one from Pandhurna district.
Medical Community Protests Doctor’s Arrest
Amid the outrage, a group of doctors and representatives of the Indian Medical Association staged a protest in Chhindwara on Tuesday, demanding the release of Dr. Praveen Soni, a government paediatrician at Civil Hospital, Parasia.
Dr. Soni had been suspended and later sent to 14-day judicial custody on Monday in connection with the deaths. The medical fraternity has termed his arrest “unjust” and called for an impartial probe into the tragedy, holding the drug manufacturer primarily responsible.
CM Orders Stringent Action
Earlier this week, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav convened a high-level meeting at his residence in Bhopal to review the incident. Following the meeting, he ordered the suspension of two drug inspectors, the Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration, and the transfer of a drug controller.
Furthermore, Yadav directed authorities to ban the sale of Coldrif syrup immediately and seize existing stocks from medical stores. “A thorough campaign should be conducted to recover the drug from the households of families who have consumed it in Chhindwara and nearby districts,” he instructed.
Probe Expands Beyond State Borders
The police said teams have been dispatched to Chennai and Kanchipuram to gather more evidence and trace the supply chain of the tainted syrup.
Investigators suspect possible lapses in drug testing and quality control, which may have led to the fatal contamination.
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