MP child deaths: Dy CM Shukla meets grieving families, reviews treatment in Nagpur
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who also holds the Public Health portfolio, on Monday met the families of children who died after consuming the toxic cough syrup Coldrif in Chhindwara and Betul districts.
The tragedy has claimed at least 20 lives so far, exposing serious lapses in drug regulation and pharmaceutical oversight.
Shukla also visited hospitals in Nagpur, where several affected children are undergoing treatment, and inquired about their condition. Expressing deep sorrow, he said the government under CM Mohan Yadav stands firmly with the bereaved families and assured that all treatment expenses of the affected children would be borne by the state, including reimbursement of costs already incurred by parents.
“The government is fully committed to protecting the health of citizens, and no culprit responsible for this tragedy will be spared,” Shukla told Millennium Post. He added that Rs 4 lakh each has been given as ex gratia to the victim families.
During his visit to Betul, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal accompanied him. Shukla informed that a police team has been sent to Tamil Nadu to arrest owners of Sresan Pharmaceutical Pvt. Ltd., the manufacturer of Coldrif syrup, after an FIR was registered against them under sections 105 and 276 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 27A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The government paediatrician from Chhindwara, who prescribed the syrup, has also been booked and arrested.
Preliminary tests found that the syrup contained 48.65 per cent diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial solvent that causes acute kidney failure. Following the lab reports, the MP Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale and distribution of Coldrif and suspended several officials.
The Deputy Chief Minister directed officials to immediately withdraw all remaining stocks of the syrup from markets and ensure strict monitoring to prevent recurrence of such incidents. The state government has ordered an extensive audit of paediatric syrups and strengthened drug surveillance across Madhya Pradesh.
