The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday (October 6, 2025) suspended the Deputy Controller and two drug inspectors of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in connection with the death of 14 children, allegedly after consuming a cough syrup adulterated with a toxic chemical.
Deputy Controller Shobhit Kosta, drug inspectors Gaurav Sharma (Chhindwara) and Sharad Kumar Jain (Jabalpur) were suspended while Controller Dinesh Maurya was transferred following directions from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav after he held a high-level meeting, a government statement said.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Yadav said that instructions have also been issued to ban cough syrups made by two other manufacturers.
“We will not tolerate any kind of negligence with respect to matters concerning human life,” Mr. Yadav said.
While the official death toll is 14, the deaths of two other children who died in neighbouring Betul district are currently under investigation as they died with similar conditions of kidney failure. Dr. Ashok Narware, Block Medical Officer in Betul’s Amla, said that the two children had also received treatment for fever in Parasia in Chhindwara district.
The Chief Minister also visited various villages in Chhindwara district, and met with the families that lost their children.
Meanwhile, State Congress president Jitu Patwari also visited Chhindwara and met families. He demanded the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who is also the Health Minister.
Describing the deaths as “murders by the government”, Mr. Patwari said, “The deaths of these 16 innocent children from Parasia, Chhindwara, Chaurai, and Saunsar have disturbed us all. This is not an accident, but a government murder. Someone must take responsibility for this.”
Mr. Patwari also demanded that a murder case be registered against the cough syrup manufacturer and senior officials of the health department.
The police have arrested Praveen Soni, a government paediatrician, who prescribed the Coldrif syrup to many of the deceased children, while also booking Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the Tamil Nadu based-manufacturer. Dr. Soni was suspended by the government.
Mr. Patwari, however, said that the doctor is not directly responsible for the tragedy.
“He only prescribed medicines, but the government is responsible for the adulteration in them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the FDA also suspended the licence of ‘Apna Medical Stores’ run by Dr. Soni’s wife, Jyoti Soni, for lapses such as incomplete sale record of Coldrif syrup.
The Chief Minister also directed officials to run an extensive campaign to recover the syrup from pharmacies and people’s homes in Chhindwara and nearby districts. He also asked officials to assess the side effects of other common medicines sold in the region.
Afsana Khan, who lost her four-year-old son on September 13, said that while the Chief Minister assured them of help, he did not listen to their problems.
“Before this, no other official even visited us in the past one month. Even today, he did not listen to what we had to say. My husband sold his auto-rickshaw, I sold my sewing machine for the treatment. The CM asked if we got the financial aid of ₹4 lakh but what will happen with that?” Ms. Khan asked. She also said that a portion of their house’s roof had collapsed in the rain when they were in hospital with their son.
NHRC issues notice
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments directing them to probe the matter of deaths of children in their region, allegedly due to contamination of cough syrup. The States have also been asked to immediately ban the sale of spurious medicines.
The notice issued by a Bench of the NHRC, presided by member Priyank Kanoongo, also directed the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, the Directorate General of Health Services, and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to order the investigation into supply of spurious drugs and also to order all the regional labs in the States to collect samples for testing.
“The authority is also directed to order all the Chief Drugs Controllers in the concerned States to process immediately the banning of the spurious drugs and submit reports,” the NHRC notice said.
The notice was issued on a complaint seeking urgent intervention in the cases of the deaths of at least 14 children in Madhya Pradesh and some districts of Rajasthan allegedly after consuming cough syrup.
(With inputs from Ishita Mishra in New Delhi)
Published – October 06, 2025 09:29 pm IST
