Cough syrup killing Uzbek children: 3 arrested in Noida
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Noida: In the case of 18 children dying in Uzbekistan after allegedly consuming cough syrup manufactured by a Noida-based pharmaceutical firm, three employees of the same were arrested by the city police on Friday, PTI reported.
An FIR was registered late on Thursday night against five officials of Marion Biotech based on a complaint by the drugs inspector of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), and the arrests were based on it. Those arrested include two of the company's directors too.
Drug authorities from the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh state checked samples of Marion Biotech's drugs and found 22 of them to be "not of standard quality" (adulterated and spurious), the complaint by the drug inspector suggested.
"Three persons named in the FIR have been arrested, while the two directors of the company are at large. Those arrested are Tuhin Bhattacharya, Head Operation; Atul Rawat, Manufacturing Chemist; and Mool Singh, Analytical Chemist," Phase 3 police station in-charge Vijay Kumar told PTI.
In December last year, Marion Biotech came under the scanner after suspicions that the cough syrups made by the company, Dok-1, caused the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan. The CDSCO initiated an investigation into the matter after that.
The World Health Organisation claimed that more than 300 children across three countries, consuming substandard cough syrups made in India since August 2022, The Economic Times reported on February 4.
The syrups used toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents, which are lethal to humans even if taken in small amounts. The substances are never supposed to be found in medicines, WHO had said.