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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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
