The pharmaceutical firm Sresan Pharma, at the heart of the deadly cough syrup tragedy in Madhya Pradesh, has been found distributing its products without mandatory quality testing, an NDTV report quoting top sources said.
The syrup, marketed as Coldrif, is believed to have caused the deaths of at least 20 children in Chhindwara, after it was found to contain toxic levels of a poisonous chemical far beyond permissible limits.
Owned by Ranganathan Govindan, Sresan Pharma had been operating under the radar for years. Following the tragedy, Govindan and his wife fled Tamil Nadu, triggering a nationwide manhunt. He was finally arrested in Chennai around 1:30 am on Thursday, ending days of pursuit.
Preliminary findings from the joint investigation have painted a damning picture of negligence and regulatory failure. Inspectors found 364 violations at Sresan Pharma’s manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, 38 of them classified as serious, sources said. These included flouting basic safety norms, lack of quality checks, and improper documentation of raw materials used in medicine production.
Authorities have now banned all products manufactured by Sresan Pharma, which has been operational since 2011. The company’s licence, renewed in 2016, was issued by the Tamil Nadu Food and Drugs Administration (TN-FDA) with no oversight from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). This effectively means the central regulatory body had no direct knowledge of the firm’s operations or quality practices.
