Srisan Pharma owner S Ranganathan arrested in case of death of 21 children due to cough syrup

Madhya Pradesh Police arrested Sreesan Pharmaceutical owner S Ranganathan in Tamil Nadu in a case related to the now banned cough syrup allegedly linked to the deaths of at least 20 children.

Ranganathan was arrested in Chennai on 8 October. He will be produced in a Chennai court and then brought to Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh after obtaining transit remand.

Tamil Nadu government has sealed the pharma unit. A police team from Madhya Pradesh visited the facility as part of its investigation into the deaths.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Madhya Pradesh Police visited the registered office of the company and its manufacturing unit in Kancheepuram as part of its investigation.

“Yes. The factory was sealed on Tuesday evening,” a government official told PTI.

The Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration department announced on October 4 that cough syrup samples collected from the manufacturing facility were “adulterated” and an official told PTI that the company had been directed to “stop production” immediately.

The Chennai-based pharmaceutical company is supplying cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ in Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan apart from some other states.