Tamil Nadu pharma owner arrested after children's deaths over Coldrif syrup

Chhindwara Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey said that S Ranganathan would be produced before a Chennai court today.

S Ranganathan, the owner of Sresan, a pharmaceutical firm based in Tamil Nadu that manufactured the ‘toxic’ cough syrup Coldrif, was arrested in Chennai and taken into custody by the Madhya Pradesh police last night. The syrup has been linked to the deaths of 19 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Chhindwara, Oct 5 (ANI): The Drugs Department sealing the Coldrif cough syrup containers after 10 children allegedly die due to consuming it during raid in an Ayush firm, in Chhindwara on Sunday. (ANI Video Grab). (ANI Video Grab)

Chhindwara Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey said that Ranganathan would be produced before a Chennai court today and then taken to Chhindwara once a transit remand is obtained, ANI reported.

He was arrested soon after being detained by the Madhya Pradesh police for questioning in the case. Several states across the country have banned the sale and distribution of the cough syrup.

Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla said on Wednesday that twenty children had died in the state after consuming Coldrif cough syrup, while five others were still being treated. Of these deaths, seventeen were from Chhindwara, two from Betul, and one from Pandhurna.

The Union Health Ministry confirmed that Coldrif contained diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic chemical commonly used in industrial solvents. Even a small amount of DEG can be deadly. The children developed kidney infections after taking Coldrif.

The police had been searching for Ranganathan in connection with the deaths of at least twenty children who fell ill after consuming the syrup. A reward of ₹20,000 had been announced for his arrest.

The Chennai-based firm was supplying the cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ to Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and a few other regions.

On October 4, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department announced that samples of the cough syrup collected from the company’s manufacturing unit in Sunguvarchatram, Kancheepuram, were found to be ‘adulterated’. Soon after this, the firm was directed to ‘stop production’ immediately.

The Tamil Nadu government banned the sale of ‘Coldrif’ from October 1 and ordered the removal of all existing stocks from the market.