Sresan Pharma Owner S Ranganathan Arrested in Chennai Over 20 Child Deaths from Toxic Coldrif Syrup

A Public Health Catastrophe

The tragedy took several weeks before it started being reported to parents around Chennai and the surrounding districts that there was something to be feared in respect of illnesses in their children. The over-the-counter Coldrif syrup was administered to the children most of whom were undergoing the symptoms of common cold. They ended up with serious and acute symptoms, such as kidney failure, vomiting and abdominal pain, which turned out to be fatal within the first twenty cases of cases reported and could be even more in reality.

Hospitals also started to receive young patients with an identical and worrisome cluster of complications that started to cause red flags in the medical community. The similarity that was discovered in one case after another was the intake of the Coldrif syrup. The finding caused mass panic and sorrow among the masses because a drug that was meant to bring relief had supposedly transformed into a lethal poison and was now ending the lives of innocent children and ruined families.

The accident has been termed as an epic failure of social well-being and safety. It has given the pharmaceutical world a dark cloud, and the health regulating bodies, as well as the law enforcing departments have been on a frenzied hunt to combat it. Immediately the focus shifted away on the treatment of the afflicted children and the immediate attention was on tracking down the origin of the contamination with a view to reduction of further deaths and investigators traced this straight to the doorstep of Sresan Pharma.

The Investigation’s Grim Discovery

Tamil Nadu Drug Control Administration initiated a massive and urgent investigation in response to the increasing crisis. Drug inspections teams were also sent to pharmacies around the state to recall all the stocks of Coldrif syrup and put out an emergency recall. At the same time, another team broke into the manufacturing plants of Sresan Pharma and took samples of the raw materials and the final products to undergo laboratory tests.

The lab test results provided a terrifying answer to the worst nightmare of the authorities. The Coldrif syrups were detected to be highly contaminated with a toxic industrial solvent, which was known as diethylene glycol (DEG). DEG is an inexpensive yet very toxic chemical being utilized unscrupulously by certain manufacturers as a solvent in their stead of costly, safer solvents. It is reported to be fatal when consumed, particularly by children and is known to lead to acute kidney failure when ingested.

This was the key discovery that led to the direct evidences of the linkage of the deaths of the children to the intake of the syrup. The probe also showed that there was a gross and criminal negligence in the manufacturing process that a poisonous industrial chemical had entered into a medicine product. The emphasis of the investigation at that point shifted to the issue of finding responsibility, whether the pollution was because of carelessness or an intentional attempt to cut costs.

Arrest and Serious Criminal Charges

The owner and the managing director of Sresan Pharma, S. Ranganathan, was arrested with the final lab reports in his possession by the Chennai City Police. It is an important step towards availing justice to the families of the victims since he is arrested. The government has declared that Ranganathan being the head of the firm has the final responsibility of the quality and safety of the products that are being produced under his tenure.

Ranganathan is undergoing a host of severe criminal charges. These consist of culpable homicide short of murder under Indian Penal Code which attracts a long term prison sentence. He is also accused of the different provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act of manufacturing and selling adulterated and spurious drugs that were of serious threat to the lives of human beings. The charges demonstrate the weight of the crime and the huge loss of life that it entailed.

The police are also examining the contribution of the other staffs at Sresan Pharma such as the quality control staffs and the production managers to establish the full magnitude of the conspiracy or negligence. The police are striving to create an airtight case with the view to making all the culprits to the avoidable tragedy stand before the entire law.

Fallout and the Call for Stricter Regulation

The event has caused the Indian pharmaceutical industry to be trembling and has grossly undermined the belief of the people in the safety of the ordinary medicines. The fatalities of more than twenty children with a basic cough syrup have confirmed some serious loopholes in the drug production regulatory system of the nation. It poses very crucial questions as to how a product that is polluted with a very toxic poison can be manufactured and marketed without detection.

Medical professionals and health activists are demanding a massive change and a total change of the system of drugs regulation. It is demanded that the number of inspections of manufacturing sites increases and becomes more frequent and strict, that the observance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) be more strict, and the punishment imposed on those companies that do not comply with the safety norms. The tragedy reveals the necessity of the policy of zero tolerance towards the quality of life-saving and health-giving medicines.

The Sresan Pharma case is a harsh and uncomfortable example of what could happen due to lack of corporate responsibility in healthcare industry. The industry is in an extreme pressure to keep its quality control mechanisms and regain the confidence of the population. The investigation and the following legal action will be followed with eagerness by the whole country as the case is considered to be a test of how effective the system is in delivering justice and ensuring that such a tragic event would not happen in the future.