BHOPAL: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the toxic cough syrup tragedy that claimed the lives of 23 children in Madhya Pradesh took Ranganathan Govindan(75) — owner of Tamil Nadubased Sresan Pharmaceuticals — to his factory in Kanchipuram district, on Sunday evening by flight for an onsite inspection.
The factory, which has been sealed by Tamil Nadu drug control department, will now come under a joint forensic and regulatory examination to determine how banned industrial-grade diethylene glycol (DEG) — a chemical used in brake fluids and antifreeze — found its way into the cough syrup’s formulation. Samples of raw materials, solvents, and finished syrup batches will be collected during the inspection.
Officials privy to the development said that samples of raw materials, solvents, and finished syrup batches will be collected during the inspection.
The team will also examine blending units, filtration systems, and production logs to identify possible procedural lapses or tampering.
“The focus is on understanding how DEG entered the production line — whether through deliberate substitution, a technical fault, or procedural negligence,” said an official involved in the investigation.
The 12-member SIT will inspect the factory’s automation systems, verify machine logs, and review batch production records to trace the precise stage at which contamination occurred. Technical experts accompanying the team will analyse mixing, bottling, and quality control processes to determine whether the toxic chemical was introduced during production or through adulterated raw materials supplied to the unit.
According to SIT sources, Ranganathan continued to feign ignorance about the contamination, claiming he had delegated production responsibilities to subordinates. However, he admitted that the tainted batch of Coldrif syrup was manufactured by his company.
During multiple rounds of interrogation, Ranganathan named the officer in charge of quality control, who is now under the SIT’s radar and might soon be detained. The SIT suspects that the quality control team failed to test or flag the use of industrial-grade DEG.
Laboratory reports from the director of drugs control, Tamil Nadu, submitted to the Madhya Pradesh govt on Oct 4, confirmed that the Coldrif cough syrup was “not of standard quality” and adulterated, containing 48.6% diethylene glycol. The contaminated batch, numbered SR-13 (manufactured May 2025, expiring Apr 2027), was found to be fatally toxic, with the DEG concentration sufficient to cause acute kidney failure and death in children.
Following the confirmation, MP govt had banned the sale of Coldrif syrup and all other medicines manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals.
Ranganathan was arrested from his Kodambakkam residence in Chennai around midnight by a joint team of MP police and Tamil Nadu’s Ashok Nagar police.
He faces charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, drug adulteration, and violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. A pharmacy graduate from Madras Medical College, Ranganathan has been associated with the pharmaceutical industry for over four decades.
The factory, which has been sealed by Tamil Nadu drug control department, will now come under a joint forensic and regulatory examination to determine how banned industrial-grade diethylene glycol (DEG) — a chemical used in brake fluids and antifreeze — found its way into the cough syrup’s formulation. Samples of raw materials, solvents, and finished syrup batches will be collected during the inspection.
Officials privy to the development said that samples of raw materials, solvents, and finished syrup batches will be collected during the inspection.
The team will also examine blending units, filtration systems, and production logs to identify possible procedural lapses or tampering.
“The focus is on understanding how DEG entered the production line — whether through deliberate substitution, a technical fault, or procedural negligence,” said an official involved in the investigation.
The 12-member SIT will inspect the factory’s automation systems, verify machine logs, and review batch production records to trace the precise stage at which contamination occurred. Technical experts accompanying the team will analyse mixing, bottling, and quality control processes to determine whether the toxic chemical was introduced during production or through adulterated raw materials supplied to the unit.
According to SIT sources, Ranganathan continued to feign ignorance about the contamination, claiming he had delegated production responsibilities to subordinates. However, he admitted that the tainted batch of Coldrif syrup was manufactured by his company.
During multiple rounds of interrogation, Ranganathan named the officer in charge of quality control, who is now under the SIT’s radar and might soon be detained. The SIT suspects that the quality control team failed to test or flag the use of industrial-grade DEG.
Laboratory reports from the director of drugs control, Tamil Nadu, submitted to the Madhya Pradesh govt on Oct 4, confirmed that the Coldrif cough syrup was “not of standard quality” and adulterated, containing 48.6% diethylene glycol. The contaminated batch, numbered SR-13 (manufactured May 2025, expiring Apr 2027), was found to be fatally toxic, with the DEG concentration sufficient to cause acute kidney failure and death in children.
Following the confirmation, MP govt had banned the sale of Coldrif syrup and all other medicines manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals.
Ranganathan was arrested from his Kodambakkam residence in Chennai around midnight by a joint team of MP police and Tamil Nadu’s Ashok Nagar police.
He faces charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, drug adulteration, and violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. A pharmacy graduate from Madras Medical College, Ranganathan has been associated with the pharmaceutical industry for over four decades.
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