Nearly four decades after 14 patients in Mumbai died of kidney failure from cough syrup tainted with diethylene glycol (DEG), the same poison has struck again. At least 20 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have now died after consuming syrup laced with the same toxic chemical. In 2019, a dozen children in Jammu and Kashmir met a similar fate. This time, the culprit is Coldrif, a cough syrup made by Sresan Pharmaceuticals. Tests confirmed that one batch contained lethal levels of DEG—an industrial solvent poisonous to humans even in trace amounts. Inspectors found more than 350 violations at the company’s Tamil Nadu plant. Several states have banned the product, but fresh cases are emerging across the country
Why are so many of our medicines unsafe? It is an appalling question for any nation to face—and an indictment of one that calls itself the “world’s pharmacy”. Since 2023, Indian cough syrup exports have required extra testing after over 140 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon died from contaminated Indian products. Yet domestic consumers remain unprotected. Once again, lax oversight and regulatory complacency have turned preventable negligence into a public health disaster. Despite repeated WHO warnings, India’s drug authorities have failed to strengthen surveillance, plug supply-chain gaps, or weed out substandard medicines. That Sresan was allowed to manufacture Coldrif for over a decade is nothing short of scandalous.
India’s pharmaceutical success story is being sullied by a handful of reckless manufacturers and distributors chasing unethical profits. Over-the-counter sales and the overprescription habits of some doctors make it easier for such operators to thrive. Greed keeps dangerous, substandard products on the shelves. While a doctor who prescribed the syrup has been arrested for negligence, Sresan’s owner is still at large. The investigation must go beyond the usual scapegoats and fix accountability on those who gave the company a clean regulatory chit. The central government must order an independent probe into the systemic collapse of drug regulation in India. Each death is a reminder that weak enforcement kills. It is time to punish the guilty—and ensure no parent has to fear a medicine bottle again.
