Prescribing Coldrif for 10 years: Doctor arrested in cough syrup deaths case

Dr Praveen Soni, the senior paediatrician from Madhya Pradesh, defended his treatment of children suffering from viral fevers amid the monsoon surge, hours before his arrest in connection with 16 deaths allegedly linked to contaminated Coldrif cough syrup.

Speaking to India Today TV, Dr Soni said that he had prescribed the syrup to children over several days as part of their primary care. "This syrup is not a one-day treatment. I have been prescribing medicines from this company for over ten years. It's wrong to suggest that a primary doctor decides on the formulation. We receive ready-to-use, sealed medicines," he said.

Dr Soni, a paediatrician posted at a government hospital in Parasia and running a private clinic, added that prescriptions often included combinations from multiple pharmaceutical companies and said he had temporarily stopped seeing infants at his clinic on the advice of health authorities.

"I have treated over 100 children recently, and no medical shop has issued any notice instructing closure," he said.

Madhya Pradesh Police arrested Dr Soni on Saturday after 16 children in Chhindwara and Betul districts died following consumption of Coldrif syrup. Police filed an FIR against him and the operators of Sresun Pharmaceuticals under multiple sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

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(With inputs from Pawan Sharma.)

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