Cough Syrup Tragedy: Madhya Pradesh Acts, Cracks Down, Suspends Officials

The death of 16 children - after they consumed Coldrif cough syrup - in Chhindwara has pushed the Madhya Pradesh government into an administrative overhaul, starting with the suspending Shobhit Costa, the Deputy Director of the state's Food and Drug Administration.

And senior officials like Gaurav Sharma, the Chhindwara Drug Inspector and Sharad Kumar Jain, his counterpart from Jabalpur, as well as Drug Controller Dinesh Maurya were transferred.

Also, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav convened a high-level meeting at his residence Monday, to decide on immediate and stringent measures to prevent the death of more children.

Among those measures, the Chief Minister said later, are orders to seize all existing stock of the Coldrif syrup (which has already been banned from sale or use), including an intensive door-to-door campaign in Chhindwara and nearby districts to recover bottles from households.

"We must ensure every family that purchased this syrup is reached," he said, also directing community health workers and local officials be roped in for this awareness campaign.

He also directed officials to examine the quality of other medicines recently sold in the area.

The Chief Minister also told officials to examine the quality of other cough syrups sold in the area, and asked for a 'comprehensive drive to verify if warnings for medicines are followed'.

Strict action will be taken against those found violating the rules, he told NDTV, emphasising that combination drugs - i.e., medications with two or more active ingredients - must not be given to children under four.

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"We took immediate action (after the cough syrup scandal broke). Medicines from the Tamil Nadu factory were banned. Out of 19 samples tested, three failed. We have written to two more factories to suspend production. We have also informed the central government."

"Negligence will not be tolerated. What happened to these children is absolutely unacceptable, and we are ensuring strict accountability," he said.

Eight of the 16 children who died after being given the Coldrif cough syrup.

Meanwhile, political pressure mounts on the ruling BJP after the Congress' state chief, Jitu Patwari, reached Chhindwara and met the families of the children who died.

He accused the government of indifference and demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for each affected family. "The government's compassion seems to have died even after 16 innocent children lost their lives," he declared.

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"We demand strict punishment for the culprits and the resignation of Health Minister Rajendra Shukla. These children became victims of government negligence and the drug mafia's greed. Congress stands firmly with every bereaved family."

And in another development, a medical professional, Dr Praveen Soni, arrested in connection with prescribing the syrup was produced before a local court.

He was sent to judicial custody till October 9.

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