Chhindwara, Nov 13 (IANS) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Madhya Pradesh Police investigating the Coldrif cough syrup tragedy on Thursday took Praveen Soni, one of the accused arrested in the case, into its custody for three days.

The SIT arrived at the Chhindwara jail on Thursday, and few minutes later, it returned with Soni.

Police sources told IANS that Soni was taken to Parasia police station in the Chhindwara district where he will be questioned for three days.

Police sources also said the development was the part of ongoing investigation and the SIT had moved an application to the Chhindwara jail for seeking Soni’s custody a couple of days ago.

Soni, a senior pediatrician, who had recommended adulterated cough syrup that allegedly led to the death of 25 children in Chhindwara and nearby districts, was arrested on October 5, after an FIR was filed against him and since then he has been lodged in the Chhindwara jail.

Recently, the SIT had also arrested Praveen Soni’s wife Jyoti Soni, proprietor of a pharmacy at Praveen Soni’s private hospital in Parasia block of Chhindwara, where most of the children were prescribed the Coldrif syrup.

The Madhya Pradesh Police have arrested seven people in the case, including G. Ranganathan, proprietor of the syrup manufacturer Sresan Pharmaceuticals based in Tamil Nadu, and various people linked with the supply chain of the medicine in Madhya Pradesh.

As many as 26 children from Chhindwara, Pandhurna, and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh, mostly under the age of five, died due to kidney failure after they were administered the Coldrif cough syrup.

Similarly, at least three children died after consuming the cough syrup in neighbouring Rajasthan.

The tragedy prompted the World Health Organisation to issue an alert against three ‘substandard’ oral cough syrups identified in India — Coldrif, Respifresh TR, and ReLife.

Tests conducted by the Madhya Pradesh government confirmed that Coldrif had 48.6 per cent of diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical, far exceeding the 0.1 per cent permissible limit.

Following the death of children, the syrup was banned in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, West Bengal and Delhi.

–IANS

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