Cough syrup deaths: MP court remands TN-based firm owner in judicial custody
Chhindwara (PTI): Ranganathan Govindan, owner of a Tamil Nadu-based firm that manufactured contaminated cough syrup 'Coldrif' linked to the deaths of more than 20 children in Madhya Pradesh, was on Monday remanded in judicial custody by a local court, an official said.
A special investigation team (SIT) had earlier taken Govindan, owner of Sresen Pharma, to Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu for questioning after he was remanded in police custody for 10 days.
He was produced before Additional Session Judge Gautam Gurjar in Parasia town after the custody period ended, SIT chief Jitendra Singh Jaat said.
The official said that Chhindwara-based Dr Praveen Soni, who prescribed 'toxic' syrup, his nephew Rajesh Soni, a wholesaler of medicines and Saurabh Jain, a pharmacist at a medical store owned by Dr Soni's wife, are already in judicial custody.
According to officials, at least 24 children from Chhindwara and nearby districts died from kidney failure after consuming 'Coldrif' syrup, which was found to be toxic.
The SIT chief said the manufacturing unit of the company has been sealed.
Earlier, the state government had suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), besides transferring the state's drug controller over the deaths.
In a related development, a local court rejected Dr Soni's bail plea, after which he moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
