SIT set up to probe kids’ deaths in MP, cough syrup maker booked

The Madhya Pradesh Police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, linked to the consumption of a “toxic” cough syrup, officials said on Sunday.

A doctor has been arrested for alleged negligence in connection with the deaths, while a case has been registered against the maker of the medicine, Coldrif cough syrup.

The body of the last victim was exhumed during the day for postmortem, even as Chhindwara Additional Collector Dhirendra Singh said ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each, announced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, has been transferred to the bank accounts of the victims’ families.

Meanwhile, two children in MP’s Betul district have died allegedly after taking Coldrif syrup, officials said on Sunday.

Upset by the arrest of Dr Praveen Soni, who was also practising at a private clinic and had prescribed the syrup even after its adverse effects on children for nearly a month, his colleagues have threatened to strike work from Monday.

The opposition Congress has also announced a protest from Monday to highlight the “BJP government’s failure” in handling the crisis.

The MP Government has banned the sale of the Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical, Kancheepuram (TN), with officials saying the drug samples have been found to contain a highly toxic substance.

A 12-member SIT, led by Parasia Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Jitendra Singh Jat, has been set up, and it will visit the pharma company in Tamil Nadu. The government on Sunday also suspended Dr Soni from service. Dr Soni and the company have been charged under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 276 (adulteration of drugs) of the BNS.

At a meeting held on Sunday, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava reviewed the implementation of Revised Schedule M norms — the standards that ensure drug manufacturing quality. Officials from across the country were told to identify non-compliant units and take corrective action to prevent incidents like the Chhindwara deaths.

The states have been instructed to step up surveillance and ensure compliance with good manufacturing practices under the Schedule M.