Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Toxic 'Coldrif' cough syrup continues to claim innocent lives in Madhya Pradesh as two more children died on Thursday. The children, hailing from Chhindwara, succumbed during treatment at a hospital in Nagpur.
With 19 deaths in Chhindwara, one in Pandhurna, and two in Betul, 22 children have lost their lives so far and many children are still hospitalised.
Chhindwara's Additional Collector, Dhirendra Singh Netri, said that five-year-old Vishal died on Wednesday evening, and four-year-old Mayank Suryavanshi died late last night while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur. He said that both children were residents of Parasia town in Chhindwara.
Chhindwara SP, Ajay Pandey, said that S. Ranganathan, owner of Srisan Pharma, was arrested last night. He will be produced before a court in Chennai and after having transit remand, he will be brought to Chhindwara.
The administration has formed a special committee to have a high-level investigation into the incident. The committee will investigate how the toxic syrup reached the market and who is responsible.
Initial investigations have revealed that some private doctors like Dr. Praveen Soni had given the children 'Coldrif' syrup. Within hours of consuming the syrup, the children's kidneys began to suffer, and their condition continued to deteriorate.
Medical examinations confirmed the presence of toxic chemicals in the syrup, which, on entering the body, damaged the kidneys. This is why many children died of kidney failure.
