Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday accused authorities in Tamil Nadu of not cooperating with the investigation into the contaminated cough syrup, manufactured by a company there, which allegedly led to the deaths of multiple children in Chhindwara district. This came hours after a minister from his government said the “Tamil Nadu government’s system is responsible for” the circumstances that led to the deaths. On Thursday, the death toll in the tragedy increased to 22. Visiting families of children who were seeking treatment in Nagpur after consuming the cough syrup, the Chief Minister said, “In Madhya Pradesh, children’s kidneys were damaged, and some died after consuming cough syrup made in Tamil Nadu. Our police went to the location where the medicine was produced and arrested some individuals, but the Tamil Nadu government is not cooperating as it should.” Yadav said the “drug controller should thoroughly investigate the non-standard medicine found there and submit a detailed report”. He said the government of the state where the company manufactures such products should take concrete steps and ensure proper action. “The initial medical reports, and the fact that people are being treated in private hospitals and then discharged to their homes, indicate that the fault lies fundamentally with the medicine administered during treatment — it is a manufacturing mistake,” he said. He called on “my friends in the Congress party” to go to Tamil Nadu and stage a protest. “They should question how the factory that produced it was given a licence, how the licence was renewed, and how a factory was set up in such a small space. Even if Rahul Gandhi wants to go there, he should, because we are the affected party. We will take our concrete action, and our government will not spare anyone,” the Madhya Pradesh CM said. More deaths At least 22 children from Madhya Pradesh have died after consuming the Coldrif cough syrup, including two on Wednesday. Two-and-a-half-year-old Vedansh died at a hospital in Nagpur, where he had been taken for treatment, like many of the other victims from Parasia in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district. His father, Kapil, who runs a local shop in Parasia, said, “Last month, my son had a cold and we took him to the clinic of Dr Praveen Soni. His condition just never improved. We took him to Nagpur on September 11, and he died yesterday. I spent Rs 10-11 lakh, which was given to me by my relatives. He was my only son. Before he fell sick, he wanted me to show my mobile phone to him and brush his teeth,” Kapil said. Dr Praveen Soni, who had been posted at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Parasia, was arrested earlier this week after several children he prescribed the cough syrup to died. One-year-old Garvik also died at a Nagpur hospital on Wednesday. His father, Babu Pawar, told The Indian Express, “My son got sick and we had to rush him from Parasia to Chhindwara. His condition just kept getting worse, so we panicked and took him to Nagpur. We did not have much support financially, and did not qualify for the Ayushman insurance scheme. Why were the cough syrups not checked? My son would have been alive if the authorities had taken this seriously.” Chhindwara does not have a dialysis unit. So, most of the children whose kidneys were affected by the contaminated cough syrup were taken to Nagpur, around 150 km from Parasia, for advanced treatment. Pharma firm owner held In the early hours of Thursday, the 75-year-old owner of the pharmaceuticals company, Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, which manufactures Coldrif cough syrup, was arrested from his apartment in Kodambakkam, Chennai. G Ranganathan was arrested by a seven-member team from the Madhya Pradesh Police, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Jitendra Jaat. The Special Investigation Team traced him by questioning his associates, tracking his banking transactions, passport, vehicle and then finally his residence, officers said. Chhindwara SP Ajay Pandey told The Indian Express, “We had to use a lot of technical intelligence to track down his movements. We had questioned his associates and also tracked down his passport number, as we had reason to believe that he might flee the country. Ranganathan was caught around midnight near his residence.” Following the arrest, the SIT took Ranganathan to the unit where the contaminated cough syrup was manufactured and questioned him. “We will question Ranganathan to uncover his suppliers, stockists, and medical representatives to identify every link. The probe will also focus on how these products were manufactured, what checks and balances were in place, and what the violations were, in order to buld a watertight case against him,” a senior SIT member said. Blame game Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Public Health and Medical Education, Narendra Shivaji Patel, blamed the Tamil Nadu government for the deaths of the children, saying that officials of his government were “not as responsible” as those in Tamil Nadu. Patel said the “incident occurred because of a factory in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government’s system is responsible for it”. The minister said the responsibility for manufacturing and licensing lies with the state where the medicine is produced. “When a medicine is manufactured in a particular state and sold outside it, it is the state’s responsibility to inspect and ensure its quality before it leaves,” he said. “Where the Tamil Nadu government showed negligence, and which officials were responsible, has come to our notice. We are writing to the Tamil Nadu government regarding this matter, inquiring about how substandard medicine produced in their factory was allowed to leave the state,” Patel was quoted as saying by the news agency, ANI.
