Cough syrup tragedy: Owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals in Chennai arrested 

CHENNAI: The police have arrested G Ranganathan, the main accused in the cough syrup tragedy that killed many children. He is the owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, accused of manufacturing the toxic Coldrif Syrup claiming the lives of 20 in Madhya Pradesh. Ranganathan, who was absconding, was arrested Thursday morning by the Madhya Pradesh police. 20 children had died after consuming the cough syrup that had highly poisonous substance.

The Tamil Nadu government had earlier issued a show cause notice to Sresan Pharmaceuticals. The notice issued asked him to submit information related to Coldrif syrup in five days. The total quantity of the drug produced, certificates and bills of raw materials, bill of purchase of propylene glycol, master formula of the drug, etc. should be provided. An inspection conducted at the Kanchipuram factory of Sresan Pharmaceuticals had found more than 350 irregularities. It was found that the institution lacked basic facilities and qualified staff. 50 kg of diethylene glycol without proper documents was also found.

The states of Punjab and Jharkhand have also banned the sale and use of Coldrif. The Karnataka health department has directed that cough and cold medicines should not be prescribed or given to children below the age of two. The export and import of cough medicines have also been banned. Apart from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Maharashtra have also banned the sale of Coldrif syrup.