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India arrests pharmaceutical plant owner after deadly cough syrup kills children
Indian police have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical factory suspected of producing a cough syrup that caused the deaths of more than twenty children over the past two months, authorities said on Thursday.
G. Ranganathan, 75, head of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, was detained at his home in Chennai (southern India) as part of an investigation into manslaughter and negligence, according to police sources. Since early August, at least 21 children under the age of five have died after consuming the syrup in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to local media.
Laboratory tests conducted by India’s federal health ministry found traces of diethylene glycol (DEG) — a toxic chemical often used as an industrial solvent — in the syrup consumed by the victims. “The samples contained DEG levels far exceeding permissible limits,” the ministry said last week.
The sale of the contaminated syrup has now been banned in three Indian states. The product was manufactured at a Sresan Pharma facility in Tamil Nadu.
Indian-made cough syrups have been linked to several international health scandals in recent years. In 2022, similar products were blamed for the deaths of more than 70 children in The Gambia, raising global concerns over drug quality and export controls in India’s vast pharmaceutical industry.