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Coldrif cough syrup toll climbs; doctor held, Tamil Nadu firm booked
Dr Praveen Soni, a paediatrician in Parasia who also ran a private practice, was arrested late on Saturday for allegedly continuing to prescribe Coldrif.
The police in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday arrested a doctor and filed a case against a Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceutical firm after multiple child deaths were linked to a toxic cough syrup, officials said. The action came amid reports of more fatalities and fresh lab tests confirming dangerously high levels of industrial chemicals in the medicine.
Dr Praveen Soni, a paediatrician posted at the Civil Hospital in Parasia who also ran a private practice, was arrested late on Saturday for allegedly continuing to prescribe Coldrif — the cough syrup linked to at least 17 deaths in Madhya Pradesh and four in Rajasthan, officials said.
“Despite the death of a child on September 4, he continued prescribing the dangerous cough syrup to children, including those under four years of age, for whom the syrup was prohibited,” said Dr Ankit Salam, Block Medical Officer.
Police have registered a case against Soni and syrup manufacturer Sresan Pharmaceuticals under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 276 (adulteration of drugs) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
“The doctor has been booked for negligence and for prescribing the medicine despite knowing its adverse effects for nearly a month. The manufacturer has been charged for supplying contaminated syrup,” said Chhindwara Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Soni had been suspended with immediate effect. “He has been suspended for negligence in the treatment of infants,” the official statement said.
The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday issued a notice to Sresan Pharmaceuticals. “A memo has been issued asking for an explanation as to why the drug licences of Sresan Pharmaceuticals should not be completely cancelled,” Tamil Nadu health minister M Subramanian said.
HT reached out to the company for a response via email on Saturday but was yet to get a reply at the time of going to press. The company also did not react to Sunday’s development. Pandey said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, which will soon visit Tamil Nadu to take action against the firm.
The first child death linked to Coldrif was reported in Chhindwara on September 4, but the syrup continued to be prescribed. As more cases emerged across multiple states, health authorities launched a broader investigation. Laboratory tests revealed that the syrup contained diethylene glycol (DEG)—a toxic industrial solvent—in alarmingly high concentrations. DEG is commonly used in products like brake fluid and antifreeze, and when consumed, can cause kidney failure and death within 24 hours. Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Telangana have now banned the sale of Coldrif.
While the permissible limit for DEG in medicines is just 0.1%, Coldrif samples collected from shops in Chindwara, where the deaths took place, contained up to 46.2% of the chemical, according to state drug controller DK Maurya. The syrup samples collected from the firm’s Kancheepuram facility and tested in Tamil Nadu showed 48.2% DEG concentration, officials said on Saturday.
“The concentration of DEG was found to be 46.2% in tests conducted at the state lab, while concentrations in Nextro DS and Meftal [two other syrups under scanner] were within safety standards,” Maurya said.
Health officials in Betul, a district bordering Chindwara, reported the death of two more children who received treatment from Soni for fever and cold.
“Two children from Kalmeshwara and Jamun Bichhua villages were taken to Parasia, where their condition worsened due to renal infection. One of them died on September 8, and the other on October 1,” said Dr Ashok Narware, Block Medical Officer, Betul-Amla.
While postmortems were not conducted, medical reports noted serious kidney complications. A report has been submitted to the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO). Police are currently interrogating Soni to determine how many children were prescribed the syrup. The body of a young girl who died on Saturday in Chhindwara district was exhumed after her parents requested a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of her death.
