Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Friday claimed that officials from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation had not carried out inspections in the state for six years, The Hindu reported.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation is the national regulatory authority for drugs, medical devices and cosmetics, which reports to the Union health and family welfare ministry.

His claim came amid the deaths of 22 children in the past month linked to the consumption of cough syrup Coldrif manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district.

The Tamil Nadu government has been accused of failing to adequately carry out drug inspections.

Responding to the allegations, Subramanian told reporters on Friday that it was mandatory to conduct inspections in all drug manufacturing units every year.

Two drug inspectors from the state had also been suspended for failing to conduct quality checks on the drugs manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, he said.

“The central drug inspectors [of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation] are required to conduct inspections of such drug manufacturing facilities across India once every three years,” The Hindu quoted the minister as saying.

He added: “However, no inspections were carried out by them in Tamil Nadu over the past six years. Where can we place the blame? We have raised this as well.”

The deaths were reported after several children, who had been suffering from fever and cold, consumed the syrup, resulting in vomiting and difficulty in urinating.

The first death was recorded on September 2. Deaths have also been reported in Rajasthan.

Of the 22 deaths reported in Madhya Pradesh, two were from Betul and one from Pandhurna district, while 19 were from Chhindwara. Three children, who allegedly consumed the syrup, are critical and undergoing treatment in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.

The Madhya Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested the owner of the pharmaceutical company, G Ranganathan, in Chennai.

On Friday, Subramanian was asked about reports referring to a 2024 Comptroller and Auditor General report, which flagged shortfalls in achievement of inspection targets and lifting of samples in the state from 2016 to 2021 ranging from 34% to 40% every year, The Hindu reported.

In response, the minister said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, whose government was in power at the time, must provide answers about the shortfalls.

Subramanian also noted that the state’s Drugs Control Department had launched an inspection immediately after receiving information from the Madhya Pradesh government on October 1 about the alleged contamination of the cough syrup.

The testing had detected traces of diethylene glycol, the minister said, following which the authorities in Madhya Pradesh and the Union health ministry were informed, The Hindu reported. Both had initially found no problems with the syrup, he added.

The minister said that an order to stop the production was issued to the manufacturer on October 3 based on these findings. A show-cause notice had also been issued to Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, he added.

Untoward incidents had been prevented in several states because of Tamil Nadu’s efforts, he added.

On October 2, the Tamil Nadu director of drug control found that the Coldrif samples were not of standard quality. Three days later, Madhya Pradesh also reported that one sample of Coldrif had 48.6% of diethylene glycol in it.

The permissible limit of diethylene glycol as an impurity is 0.1%. However, drug officials Scroll spoke to said that the chemical is unsafe even in trace amounts and should ideally be completely absent from an ingestible syrup. Its presence is a serious quality compliance issue, the officials said.

On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was not cooperating with the investigation into the deaths of the 22 children linked to the consumption of the Coldrif cough syrup.

Responding to this claim, Subramanian said that the arrest of the pharmaceutical company’s owner was possible only because of the state government’s efforts in conducting an inspection and detecting contamination in the cough syrup, The Hindu reported.

Drug inspectors should conduct periodic inspections at all 397 pharmaceutical manufacturing units in the state, the minister said, adding that Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration R Lalvena was conducting meetings with them to ensure regular inspections.

Delhi bans Coldrif cough syrup

On Friday, the Delhi government banned the sale, purchase and distribution of the Coldrif cough syrup after it was declared “not of standard quality”, PTI reported.

In an order, it said that the syrup manufactured in May 2025 by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer was found to be adulterated with diethylene glycol, a “toxic chemical known to be harmful to human health”.

All stakeholders were directed to immediately stop selling, purchasing or distributing this batch of the syrup, the order said, while also advising the public to not use the product given its potential health risks, PTI reported.

Earlier, the formulation was banned in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry and West Bengal.

Also read: How adulterated cough syrup killed Madhya Pradesh’s children

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting