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Follow UsChhindwara (MP), Oct 8 (PTI) Five children from Madhya Pradesh are in a critical condition while 20 have died due to kidney infections caused by the consumption of a "contaminated" cough syrup, state Health Rajendra Shukla said on Wednesday.
A police team from Chhindwara in MP has gone to Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to arrest the owner of the company that manufactures Coldrif cough syrup, Shukla told reporters after meeting families of the deceased children.
The children died due to suspected kidney failure, linked to the consumption of the "toxic" Coldrif cough syrup, as per officials.
"A total of 20 children -- 17 from Chhindwara, two from Betul and one from Pandhurna -- have died," said Shukla, who is also the deputy chief minister of MP.
Two of them died on Tuesday and one on Monday.
Five children are undergoing treatment in Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra.
"Two children are admitted to the AIIMS, two in a government hospital, and one in a private hospital in Nagpur. Everyone is trying to save these children's lives," Shukla said.
He visited Nagpur on Tuesday and met with the families of the children undergoing treatment there.
The syrup responsible for the deaths was manufactured by a company based at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.
A police team from Chhindwara has gone to Kancheepuram to apprehend the owner of the company that manufactures Coldrif cough syrup, Shukla said, adding that the government is very strict in this matter and is taking the strongest possible action.
Amid the investigation into the matter, the MP government on Monday suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration, and also transferred the state's drug controller.
Dr Praveen Soni from Chhindwara has been arrested on charges of negligence.
The Madhya Pradesh Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the deaths and registered a case against the Tamil Nadu-based manufacturer of the Coldrif cough syrup. PTI COR MAS GK