Deadly Negligence: How 20 Children Died from Toxic Cough Syrup While Madhya Pradesh's Drug Testing System Failed

Bhopal:

In Madhya Pradesh, 20 children have died and seven more are fighting for their lives after consuming a toxic cough syrup that never should have reached them.

What began as a series of mysterious deaths in Chhindwara has evolved into a disturbing revelation of how India's drug regulation system, designed to protect citizens, completely broke down under pressure.

By September 29, 10 children had already perished after taking the cough syrup Coldrif, manufactured by a Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceutical company.

Astonishingly, samples of the suspected medicine were not sent to the state's drug testing laboratory through emergency channels or secure transport but via ordinary registered post—the same method used for sending letters—without any tracking or urgency indication.

Drug testing lab in Bhopal

Before results even arrived, Madhya Pradesh's Health Minister Rajendra Shukla declared twice, on October 1 and October 3, that the syrup was safe. He gave the medication a clean bill of health before any report was available—a decision that now stands in stark contrast to the deceased children who had already succumbed.

Tamil Nadu, conversely, acted with immediacy. Its drug laboratory tested the same syrup and within 48 hours confirmed it was toxic, promptly banning it.

While Tamil Nadu took decisive action, Madhya Pradesh's own samples were still moving slowly through the postal system. It took three days just to send them from Chhindwara to Bhopal—a distance of merely 300 kilometers. When hours were critical, the state wasted days.

The first alerts about the deaths emerged on September 19, when reports from Nagpur indicated contaminated cough syrup involvement. By September 22, a team from the state's health department had arrived in Chhindwara, followed by specialists from the National Centre for Disease Control and National Health Mission between September 26 and 28. Samples were collected, and local authorities temporarily banned the syrup's sale in Chhindwara on September 29.

However, the ban was restricted to that district, allowing the same medicine to continue being sold in neighboring areas for days. On October 1, the Centre issued alerts about two suspicious syrups, Nastro-DS and Coldrif. Two days later, Tamil Nadu's laboratory confirmed Coldrif to be substandard and hazardous.

It wasn't until October 4, more than four weeks after the initial deaths, that Madhya Pradesh finally implemented a statewide ban on the syrup. By then, the damage was irreversible.

When NDTV questioned Madhya Pradesh's Drug Controller, Dinesh Srivastava, about why critical evidence in a case involving children's deaths had been sent by registered post, he admitted this was standard procedure.

Madhya Pradesh's Drug Controller, Dinesh Srivastava

"Traditionally, all samples are sent through registered post," he stated, adding, "However, in emergencies, officers should seal and send them through special carriers. This matter is under investigation, and those responsible for delays have been suspended."

His response revealed a troubling reality that even during crises, the state's health machinery relies on outdated, mechanical processes better suited for routine paperwork than saving lives.

Beyond procedural failures, the tragedy has also exposed the fragile infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh's drug testing system. The state operates just three drug laboratories in Bhopal, Indore, and Jabalpur with a combined capacity to test only around 6,000 samples annually.

Currently, these laboratories are overwhelmed, with more than 5,500 samples awaiting analysis. Each test requires two to three days, and the state employs only 80 drug inspectors to monitor an entire population across 50 districts.

Officials privately acknowledge that at the current pace, clearing the backlog could take over a year. "Our three labs can test around 6,000 samples a year. It's clear we need to increase capacity, and we are reviewing that," Srivastava told NDTV. But for families who have already lost their children, these assurances come too late.

The evidence of neglect extends further. Two mobile drug testing vans, purchased with public funds for on-site quality checks, have remained unused for years inside the compound of the Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration in Bhopal's Idgah Hills. One hasn't moved since 2022; the other was never utilized at all.

Mobile drug testing lab

"Some rapid tests can be performed in the van, but most chemical analyses require heavy equipment. It's under consideration," explained Joint Controller Tina Yadav, when questioned about why they weren't deployed during the crisis.

These idle vehicles, intended to prevent precisely such tragedies, have become unmistakable symbols of bureaucratic inertia.

As investigators attempt to trace every bottle of the deadly syrup, disturbing statistics are emerging. Of the 660 bottles of Coldrif distributed across Chhindwara and nearby districts, 457 have been seized, and 28 sent for testing. Another 156 were administered to patients, while 19 bottles remain unaccounted for. Their whereabouts remain unknown—whether they've already reached homes and hospitals. Each untraced bottle represents a continuing danger, suggesting this crisis may not yet be over.

The Chhindwara deaths have exposed not just one company's negligence but a series of systemic failures—a government that acted too slowly, overwhelmed laboratories, unused equipment, and a regulatory framework that failed to recognize an emergency when faced with one. From sending vital samples through regular mail to declaring a drug safe without testing, every aspect of the state's response has revealed deeper institutional problems.

As 20 children's parents grieve and seven more children fight for survival, Madhya Pradesh's health department continues struggling with bureaucratic processes.

All the warning signs were present—ignored, delayed, and mismanaged.

Even today, as toxic samples sit in government storage and testing vans gather dust, the system designed to protect the public remains dangerously unprepared for its next challenge.

The question now extends beyond determining responsibility for this tragedy to whether Madhya Pradesh's drug control machinery can ever reform itself.