The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted coordinated raids at the offices and residences of officials of the Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department and Sreesan Pharmaceuticals as part of a money laundering probe, following the deaths of 20 children in Madhya Pradesh after consuming the cough syrup Coldrif.The Tamil Nadu government has cancelled the company’s licence and ordered its permanent closure. Searches were carried out at seven locations in Chennai and Kancheepuram district, where the company’s manufacturing facility is located.
Earlier, the state had suspended two senior Drug Inspectors of Kancheepuram for failing to inspect Sreesan Pharma. The ED’s action and the state government’s closure order follow the deaths of 24 children in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, who were administered the contaminated syrup.
The proprietor of Sreesan Pharmaceuticals, G. Ranganathan (75), was arrested on October 10 from a hideout in Chennai’s Ashok Nagar by the Madhya Pradesh Police Special Investigation Team with Tamil Nadu police support.
The ED based its probe on two FIRs: one registered by Madhya Pradesh Police following the syrup fatalities, and another relating to a corruption case against former TN Drug Control Director P.U. Karthikeyan, who was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 in July to fast-track a licence for a Vellore-based herbal cosmetics manufacturer. The sting operation exposed deep-rooted corruption in the Drug Control Department, including bribery and lax monitoring of pharma companies.
Health Minister M. Subramanian stated that both the Madhya Pradesh Drug Control Department and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) were informed on October 3 about test results carried out within 48 hours of being alerted to the deaths. Laboratory tests revealed the syrup contained 48.6% industrial-grade Diethylene Glycol (DEG), far above permissible limits.
All licences issued to Sreesan Pharmaceuticals are now cancelled, and the company has been ordered to close permanently.