Punjab bans Coldrif cough syrup sale, Cong seeks probe into kids’ deaths

Bhopal/Chandigarh, Oct 7 (PTI) The Punjab Government has banned the sale and use of Coldrif cough syrup, the move coming in the wake of deaths of 14 children in Madhya Pradesh, linked to consumption of the medicine.

Punjab has become the latest state after Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand to impose curbs on the distribution of the syrup.

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking inquiry and systemic reform in drug safety mechanisms in the wake of deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly due to consumption of toxic cough syrups.

The Indian Medical Association came out in defence of a doctor arrested in connection with cough syrup deaths in Madhya Pradesh, saying the approval of the syrup and monitoring its quality squarely fall within the ambit of the drugs regulatory system.

The Madhya Pradesh Government will bear the cost of treatment of children suffering from kidney infections after taking the contaminated cough syrup in Chhindwara and Betul districts, an official said on Tuesday.

The Congress on Tuesday demanded a judicial probe into the deaths, strict action against those responsible and compensation for the families of the deceased.

An order issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of Punjab on Monday said Coldrif syrup was declared as not of standard quality by the Madhya Pradesh government analyst, drugs testing laboratory and FDA.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday directed the authorities to ensure that the administration bears the entire cost of treatment of the affected children, an official said.

To ensure proper treatment, a joint team of executive magistrates and doctors has been deployed at various hospitals in Nagpur and is in touch with the affected families and hospitals to ensure proper arrangements for the children's treatment, the official said.

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court, seeking inquiry and systemic reform in drug safety mechanisms in the wake of the deaths.

The PIL, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, seeks a court-monitored probe into the incidents and urges the constitution of a National Judicial Commission or Expert Committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.

The PIL requests that all pending FIRs and investigations concerning the deaths of children caused by toxic cough syrups across states be transferred to the CBI.

It seeks a probe under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge to ensure fairness and uniformity.

The petition contends that separate state-level investigations have led to fragmented accountability, enabling repeated lapses that allow hazardous formulations to reach the market.

The plea seeks court's direction to the Central government to constitute a national-level judicial or expert body to identify the regulatory failures that allowed substandard medicines to reach the market.

It also urged the court to mandate toxicological testing of all suspect products through NABL-accredited laboratories before any further sale or export is permitted.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) said Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and MP Food and Drugs Administration failed to monitor the concentration of DEG (Diethylene Glycol) in the cough syrup.

The response of both the central and state authorities are creating problems instead of instilling confidence in the minds of the public, it said.

"Arresting a doctor who has the mandate and privilege to prescribe a drug as approved by competent authorities has sent a wrong message. Doctors across the country are apprehensive after indiscriminate action against a bonafide doctor," the statement said.

The cough syrup tragedy in Madhya Pradesh and the subsequent arrest of the doctor who prescribed the same is a classic example of legal illiteracy of the officials and the police, the IMA said.

MP Police has arrested Chhindwara-based Dr Praveen Soni, a senior paediatrician, for alleged negligence.

The IMA demanded immediate action against the actual culprits, and adequate compensation for the affected families and the doctor who is a victim of defamation.

"The onus of the death of these hapless children falls squarely on the manufacturers and the authorities. Intimidation of the medical profession is uncalled for and will be resisted," the IMA said.

The arrest of the doctor “in haste” shows an attempt to divert the attention of the people from the faults of regulatory bodies and the concerned pharmaceutical company, the IMA said.

The IMA said it is concerned over the “incompetence and inadequacy” of the drug regulatory system in the country and mishandling of this unfortunate incident.

The Congress accused the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan of giving a "clean chit" to the companies that had manufactured the cough syrup that was allegedly responsible for the deaths of the children.

The opposition party also sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.

At a joint press briefing with Congress Legislature Party leader in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully, the party's legislature party leader in Madhya Pradesh, Umang Singhar, claimed that 16 children have died in Chhindwara.

The local Congress MLA had warned the government several times, but no action was taken, the leader said.

Tests are conducted even for minor illnesses but no tests were conducted while children's kidneys were failing in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader said.

“The BJP government is giving only Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the families of the deceased. Is the price of a mother's empty lap just Rs 4 lakh?" he asked.

He demanded a judicial inquiry into the cases of the children's deaths and a government job for a member of each of the affected families. PTI MAS CHS ARI ASK/SKC RC PLB KVK SJK VN GK VT VT