Indian police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the cough syrup company linked to the deaths of at least 19 children in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police officer told Reuters on Thursday.
The children, all under five years of age, died in the past month in the state's Chhindwara city, after consuming cough medicine containing toxic diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit.
The deaths were all linked to Sresan Pharma's Coldrif syrup, which has been banned in several parts of India after a test confirmed the presence of the chemical last Thursday.
SYRUP FACTORY OWNER ARRESTED
S.Ranganathan, owner of the Tamil Nadu state-based company that manufactured the syrup, was arrested on Wednesday in Chennai where he will appear in court before being moved to Chhindwara, the Chhindwara Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey told Reuters.
Local drug authorities have stepped up efforts to curb the circulation of contaminated medicine, testing random samples of cough syrups and making door-to-door calls to retrieve Coldrif bottles,
"We (have) got 30-40 bottles (through this means)...we (also) recalled some from retailers and stockists," district administrator Harendra Narayan said, adding that 594 bottles of the syrup were sold to pharmaceutical stockists in the region over the last six weeks.
By law, Indian drugmakers must test each batch of raw materials and the final product.
Exports of cough syrup require another layer of tests at government-mandated laboratories since 2023, after the deaths of over 10 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon were linked to Indian syrups.
The World Health Organization has said the recent case highlights a "regulatory gap" in India’s screening of medicines being sold domestically, and warned that some exports could have been made unofficially.
Indian authorities have asked people to avoid two other locally-sold syrups, Respifresh and RELIFE, made by Gujarat state-based Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals, after tests found they contained the same toxic chemical
Known as the "pharmacy of the world", India is the third-largest drug producer by volume after the U.S. and China.
The country supplies 40% of generic medicines used in the U.S., and more than 90% of all medicines in many African nations.
A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on...
At a time when geopolitical tensions continue to ripple across multiple regions, from Ukraine to the Middle East, ...
Iran warned Armerican forces on Monday (4 May) not to enter the Strait of Hormuz, after the U.S. said it...
Austria has expelled three diplomats from the Russian Embassy over concerns that satellite installations on diplomatic buildings could be used for ...
Recent developments across the Middle East show political messaging is moving beyond traditional channels, with public art and AI-generated content...
A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on a pedestrianised street in the the eastern German city of Leipzig, authorities said.
At a time when geopolitical tensions continue to ripple across multiple regions, from Ukraine to the Middle East, the South Caucasus once again finds itself at the crossroads of diplomacy and uncertainty.
Austria has expelled three diplomats from the Russian Embassy over concerns that satellite installations on diplomatic buildings could be used for espionage.
A Russian missile strike killed six people in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Monday (4 May), as Kyiv reported fresh attacks on energy infrastructure and a sharp rise in drone strikes on ports.
A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on a pedestrianised street in the the eastern German city of Leipzig, authorities said.
Iran warned Armerican forces on Monday (4 May) not to enter the Strait of Hormuz, after the U.S. said it had launched a mission to try and reopen the sea passage. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister said there was no military solution to the Middle East conflict.
China has moved to block U.S. sanctions on five of its oil refineries, in a fresh escalation of tensions over trade and energy policy.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will “soon be reviewing” a new 14-point proposal sent by Iran, casting doubt on the chances of a deal after Tehran called for security guarantees, an end to naval blockades and a halt to the war across the region, including in Lebanon.
Ukraine has launched a new wave of drone strikes on Sunday (3 May) across Russia, hitting key infrastructure and causing casualties in several regions, officials on both sides said.
What is hantavirus? Three people have died and three are still ill on a Netherlands-based cruise ship after it was hit by a suspected outbreak of the deadly virus, according to authorities on Sunday.
Medics are working to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly respiratory illness, hantavirus, from a luxury cruise ship being held off West Africa, after three people died and several others fell ill, officials have said.
Jars of baby food deliberately tampered with rat poison and discovered in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were part of an attempted extortion plot targeting manufacturer HiPP, German police said on Monday.
More than half of Haiti’s population is facing acute food insecurity, prompting the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to warn that recent progress in tackling hunger remains fragile and could quickly be reversed without urgent support.
A Chinese biotechnology company is stepping up efforts to combine artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced genetic testing in a bid to improve the success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF), while also tapping into growing demand for fertility services.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment