5-Month-Old Dies After Being Given Medicines, Including Herbal Cough Syrup In Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, already under national scrutiny after the deaths of at least 20 children due to contaminated cough syrup-induced acute kidney failure, has been shaken again by another tragedy. A five-month-old girl, Ruhi Minote, died on Thursday morning after being administered a combination of medicines, including a herbal cough syrup, purchased from a private medical store in Bichua town.

Ruhi's parents, unable to find a doctor at the government health facility in Bichua, turned to a local medical shop, Kurethe Medicals, for treatment on Monday. "We were given small sachets of medicines and a herbal cough syrup," said Sandip Minote, the infant's father. "Initially, her condition seemed to improve, but it worsened by Tuesday. When we rushed her to the community health centre on Thursday, she was declared brought dead."

Following the complaint, Bichua police registered an inquest under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Two men running the medical store are being questioned, and teams from the state Food and Drugs Department and Health Department have seized and sent the medicines for testing. "If negligence is confirmed, strict action will follow," said Bichua Police Station in-charge Satish Uikey.

The local administration has also sealed the medical store, pending investigation.

Toxic cough syrup had claimed the lives of 20 children in Parasia and Chourai in Chhindwara and three more in the Pandhurna and Betul districts last month. Those deaths were linked to the Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceutical firm Sresan Pharma and allegedly prescribed by government paediatrician Dr Pravin Soni at his private clinic.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has arrested six people so far, including Dr Soni and Sresan Pharma's owner, Ranganathan Govindan.

On Thursday, the SIT also named Jyoti Soni, Dr Soni's wife, as an accused for allegedly destroying evidence. She has been on the run since her husband's arrest.

After the death of the five-month-old girl, residents of the district are demanding stricter regulation of pharmacies and regular inspection of all over-the-counter drugs.