Madhya Pradesh Doctor Who Prescribed Deadly Cough Syrup To Children Arrested

The doctor in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara who prescribed Coldrif syrup to children has been arrested amid a massive row over the deaths of 11 children who allegedly took the contaminated cough syrups, officials said early Sunday. Most of the children were treated at the clinic of Praveen Soni, a paediatrician in Parasia.

Soni, a government doctor who prescribed the syrup to children during their visit to his private clinic, was also suspended.

The Madhya Pradesh government also filed a case against Srisan Pharmaceuticals, a company based in Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram district that manufactured the Coldrif cough syrup.

The government had earlier banned the sale of Coldrif, with officials saying that samples of the drug were found to contain 48.6 % diethylene glycol, a highly toxic substance. A sample of the syrup, tested by the government drug analyst at the Drug Testing Laboratory in Chennai, was declared "Not of Standard Quality" by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Drug Control.

As a precautionary measure, the local administration banned the sale of Coldrif and another cough syrup, 'Nextro-DS', on Monday. The test report for Coldrif arrived on Saturday, while that of Nextro-DS is awaited.

According to distraught families, the children first complained of a cold and mild fever in early September. They were then prescribed routine medication, including cough syrups, after which they seemed to recover. But within days, the symptoms returned, followed by a sudden and alarming decrease in urine output. Their condition then worsened into kidney infections, and they later died.

Kidney biopsies then revealed the presence of diethylene glycol contamination.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav called the deaths "extremely tragic" and said strict action will be taken against those responsible.

"The deaths of children in Chhindwara due to Coldrif syrup are extremely tragic. The sale of this syrup has been banned across Madhya Pradesh. A ban is also being imposed on the sale of other products from the company that manufactures the syrup," he wrote on X on Saturday.

He said they asked the Tamil Nadu government to test Coldrif as the factory producing the syrup is located in Kanchipuram.

छिंदवाड़ा में Coldrif सिरप के कारण हुई बच्चों की मृत्यु अत्यंत दुखद है। इस सिरप की बिक्री को पूरे मध्यप्रदेश में बैन कर दिया है। सिरप को बनाने वाली कंपनी के अन्य प्रोडक्ट की बिक्री पर भी बैन लगाया जा रहा है।

सिरप बनाने वाली फैक्ट्री कांचीपुरम में है, इसलिए घटना के संज्ञान में…

— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) October 4, 2025

"The investigation report was received this morning. Strict action has been taken based on the report. Following the tragic deaths of the children, action was underway at the local level. A team has also been formed at the state level to investigate this matter. The guilty will not be spared at any cost," Yadav said.

Rajasthan, which has seen three similar deaths, and Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also banned Coldrif.