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<\/p>\nThe complaint stated that Coldrif Syrup was given to children under five years old for common cough and cold. (Representative\/News18 Hindi)<\/p>\n
The cough syrup<\/a> scandal linked to children\u2019s deaths in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh has unveiled a large medical mafia network. Police have informed the court that Dr Praveen Soni, who has been arrested, received a 10% commission from the company to prescribe the now banned adulterated Coldrif Syrup<\/a> to children. This syrup has led to the deaths of 15 children so far.<\/p>\n According to reports, Dr Soni received the commission from Tamil Nadu-based pharma company Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, which produced the contaminated syrup containing deadly Diethylene Glycol (DEG). This chemical is responsible for urine retention, kidney failure, and eventually the deaths of the children.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Tamil Nadu government revoked the company\u2019s licence and ordered the immediate closure of the factory. Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has raided locations associated with the company.<\/p>\n Bail Plea Rejected, Serious Remarks In Court<\/p>\n The case was heard by Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Kumar Gujar (Parasia Court). On October 8, the court rejected Dr Soni\u2019s bail plea, stating that he knowingly administered dangerous, adulterated medicine to children, despite the government banning Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs for children under 4 years old in December 2023.<\/p>\n What Did The Police Report State<\/p>\n According to the police report submitted to the court, on December 18, 2023, the Directorate General of Health Services of the central government directed all states not to administer FDC drugs to children under 4 years old. <\/p>\n Despite this, Dr Soni continued to prescribe Coldrif Syrup<\/a>, resulting in the deaths of 15 children under his care. The police claimed that Dr Soni received a 10% commission on every syrup prescription.<\/p>\n Police are also investigating whether Dr Soni\u2019s family members were involved in this business. It is reported that a medical store near his clinic is registered under his relatives\u2019 names, and the syrup stockist is also a family member.<\/p>\n A senior police officer said, \u201cWe are questioning the stockists, wholesalers, and company owner Ranganathan of Sresan Pharmaceuticals. The SIT team has taken them to Tamil Nadu.”<\/p>\n How Was The Scandal Uncovered<\/p>\n On October 4, Parasia Block Medical Officer Dr Ankit Sehlam filed an FIR. The complaint stated that Coldrif Syrup was given to children under five years old for common cough and cold, after which they showed symptoms like difficulty in urination, kidney failure, and increased creatinine-urea levels in the blood. Several children died during treatment in Nagpur in September-October.<\/p>\n Dr Soni\u2019s lawyer, Pawan Kumar Shukla, argued in court that his client did not knowingly administer any harmful medicine, and the responsibility for the quality of the medicine lies with the Drug Controller Department.<\/p>\n Location :<\/p>\n Chhindwara, India, India<\/p>\n First Published:<\/p>\n October 14, 2025, 11:51 IST<\/p>\n News<\/a> india<\/a> Cough Syrup Deaths: Doctor Earned 10% Commission Per Coldrif PrescriptionDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:October 14, 2025, 11:51 IST Police are probing if Dr. Praveen Soni’s family was involved, as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[129060,120055,129059,129062,129064,97,129061,243,129065,129063],"class_list":{"0":"post-231458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-chhindwara-children-deaths","9":"tag-coldrif-syrup","10":"tag-cough-syrup-scandal","11":"tag-diethylene-glycol-poisoning","12":"tag-fixed-dose-combination-drugs","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-medical-mafia-network","15":"tag-medication","16":"tag-prescription-commission","17":"tag-sresan-pharmaceutical-manufacturer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}