Death of 14 kids in MP: Doctor held, ‘toxic’ cough syrup maker booked; SIT formed
Chhindwara (MP) (PTI): The Madhya Pradesh police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, linked to the consumption of a “toxic” cough syrup, officials said on Sunday.
A doctor has been arrested for alleged negligence in connection with the child deaths, while a case has been registered against the maker of the medicine, Coldrif cough syrup, they said.
The body of the last victim was exhumed during the day for post-mortem, even as Chhindwara Additional Collector Dhirendra Singh said that ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each, announced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, has been transferred to the bank accounts of the victims’ families.
Eight children are being treated in Nagpur -- four in a government hospital, one at AIIMS and three in private facilities, he said. Meanwhile, two children in MP's Betul district have died allegedly after taking Coldrif cough syrup, health officials said on Sunday.
Upset by the arrest of Dr Praveen Soni, who was also practising at a private clinic and had prescribed the syrup even after its adverse effects on children for nearly a month, his colleagues have threatened to strike work from Monday.
The opposition Congress has also announced a protest from Monday to highlight the “BJP government’s failure” in handling the crisis and seek more financial relief for the families of the children.
The MP government has banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical, Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu), with officials saying the drug samples have been found to contain a highly toxic substance.
Of the children who died, 11 were from Parasia sub-division, two from Chhindwara city and one from Chaurai tehsil.
A 12-member SIT, led by Parasia Sub Divisional Officer of Police Jitendra Singh Jat, has been set up, and it will visit the pharma company in Tamil Nadu, said additional collector Singh.
Meanwhile, the body of two-year-old Yogita Thakre, the last victim, was exhumed for post-mortem as demanded by her family, Singh said.
He said that samples of 1,102 children have been collected so far. A total of 5,657 tests have been conducted, of which the results of 4,868 have been received.
The government on Sunday also suspended Dr Soni from service, a day after CM Yadav had said on Saturday that strict action would be taken against those responsible.
Chhindwara unit president of the Indian Medical Association, Kalpana Shukla, has said that if Dr Soni is not released, all doctors will launch an indefinite strike from Monday.
The Congress said in a statement that its workers will hold a sit-in fast at Fawara Chowk in the district headquarters on October 6 to protest against the government’s “apathy”, alleged delay in action over the rising deaths of children, and “inadequate” compensation to victims’ families.
Dr Soni and the company have been charged under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 276 (adulteration of drugs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They have also been booked under section 27A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which prescribes over 10 years’ imprisonment or a life term, according to Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey.
The Tamil Nadu drug control authorities, in their report of October 2, declared the Coldrif syrup sample (Batch No SR-13; Mfg: May 2025; Exp: April 2027) manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, Kancheepuram, as adulterated because it contained diethylene glycol (48.6% w/v), a poisonous substance "which may render the contents injurious to health".
Following the report, the Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration issued instructions to stop further sale and distribution of Coldrif statewide and immediately seize any available stock for investigation under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. It also ordered that other products manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals be removed from sale pending testing.
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday banned Coldrif following reports of deaths in Madhya Pradesh and at least three similar fatalities in Rajasthan due to suspected kidney infections.
Samples from the affected children have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, while further tests on the syrup's adulteration and contamination are underway.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has also initiated risk-based inspections at the manufacturing units of 19 drugs, including cough syrups and antibiotics, across six states, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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