Overview

• Tamil Nadu’s drug control lab found 48.6% diethylene glycol in Coldrif batch SR-13 (manufactured May 2025) made by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, declaring the sample adulterated.
• Madhya Pradesh police formed a 12-member special investigation team, arrested and suspended paediatrician Dr. Praveen Soni, and filed cases against the manufacturer under culpable homicide and drug adulteration laws.
• Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala ordered bans, seizures or recalls of the product, with Maharashtra issuing a public alert while stating the batch was not supplied in the state.
• The Madhya Pradesh government transferred the state drug controller and suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director as the probe advanced into the Chhindwara fatalities.
• The Union health ministry and CDSCO initiated risk-based inspections across 19 manufacturing units, issued guidance to avoid cough syrups in children under two, and investigators sent samples to national labs as eight children continue treatment in Nagpur.