A bottle of ‘Coldrif’ cough syrup, manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals, which has reportedly caused nearly two dozen deaths in southern Madhya Pradesh since September 2025. Photo credit: AM Faruqui
A five-month-old girl died in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district allegedly after consuming Ayurvedic medicines, including cough syrup, officials said on Friday, adding that samples had been sent for testing.
The incident comes amid the deaths of 25 children in the last two months in Chhindwara and neighboring districts due to kidney failure linked to ‘Coldrif’, an allopathic cough syrup found to be adulterated with a toxic industrial solvent.
In the Coldrif syrup case, the police have so far arrested six people, including G. Ranganathan, owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the syrup, and Dr. Praveen Soni, a local pediatrician who prescribed it to several victims.
According to officials, the child, identified as Ruhi Minote, a resident of Bichhua area of Chaurai sub-division, was suffering from cold and cough. She died on Thursday, after which her father filed a complaint at the local police station, claiming that her death was caused by medication.
Chhindwara Chief Medical Officer and Medical Officer Dr. Naresh Gonnade told The Hindu that the child’s father bought Ayurvedic cough syrup and medicinal powder from a local pharmacy and administered them for two days.
“The medicine was not prescribed by the doctor and the father bought it over the counter. We are currently investigating whether the shop owner himself gave these medicines or the father specifically requested them,” he said, adding that an FIR has been registered at the Bichhua police station.
Dr Gonnade said after the incident, the girl’s family’s medicines were confiscated, the pharmacy was sealed and the drug control department sent samples for testing.
An autopsy was performed and samples of the child’s viscera were also sent for forensic analysis.
“We have sent all the samples for testing and have taken precautionary measures. At this point, we cannot assume that the death was caused by any drug. We will have to wait for all the reports,” said Dr. Gonnade.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Chaurai Prabhat Mishra said the child did not show any symptoms like vomiting or difficulty urinating which were seen in children who consumed ‘Coldrif’ syrup.
“The family did not report any of these symptoms. We have consulted the block doctor and the local doctor and prima facie they believe that she had symptoms of pneumonia. It will be confirmed after viscera and other tests. Her family did not take her to any doctor and only bought medicine from the shop,” Mr. Mishra told The Hindu without adding that the district administration was conducting an awareness campaign about the doctors.
Published – 31 Oct 2025 20:52 IST
