Indian Businessman Sentenced to 20 Years in Uzbekistan for Poisoned Cough Syrup Case

The Supreme Court of Uzbekistan imposed penalties on 21 individuals on Monday for the deaths of 68 children caused by tainted cough syrup. According to reports by NDTV, all of them have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years. Indian industrialist Raghavendra Pratap is also among those implicated. He has been found guilty of corruption and complicity.

In reality, between 2022 and 2023, at least 86 children received contaminated cough syrup in Uzbekistan, resulting in the deaths of 68 children.

Several cases have been registered against Raghavendra. Upon complaints from relatives of the deceased, Uzbekistan police have filed charges in court. Among them, Raghavendra Pratap, director of a company selling Doc-1 Max syrup in Uzbekistan, has also been accused. He faced serious charges, including corruption and complicity.

In January 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert stating that two cough syrups produced by India’s Merian Biotech should not be given to children. The syrups are named Ambrolite Syrup and DIOK-1 Max. Both syrups are manufactured by the noted company Merian Biotech.

WHO stated that investigations revealed that both syrups did not meet quality standards. They contained an inappropriate amount of diethylene glycol, also known as ethylene glycol, which is a toxic substance.

Merian Biotech’s production license was revoked.

After the cases emerged, the Indian government revoked the production license of Merian Biotech for cough syrup in March 2023. Meanwhile, in Gambia, 70 children who had imported other cough syrups from India died after using them. All the children suffered kidney failure.

Gambia holds four Indian cough syrup brands accountable for the deaths of 70 children in their country. The World Health Organization (WHO) also issued a warning about the use of these cough syrups. However, India stated that they had tested the cough syrup, and its quality was found to be satisfactory. Following this, the Gambian government released a statement saying that there was no link between Indian syrups and the deaths of children in their country.

Ethylene glycol is a chemical compound. According to the WHO, ethylene glycol is a carbon compound. It is odorless, colorless, and sweet-tasting. It is used in children’s syrups to make them easy to ingest. However, ingestion of excessive amounts of ethylene glycol can be toxic. It is banned in many countries.

More than 50 percent of generic drugs in the world are exported from India. India supplies over 50 percent of the essential generic drugs globally. About 40 percent of generic drugs are supplied to the United States and approximately 25 percent to Britain. From the perspective of pharmaceutical generation, India ranks third globally.

India’s pharmaceutical industry comprises around 3,000 pharmaceutical companies and produces approximately 10,500 units of products. Currently, over 80 percent of the anti-retroviral drugs used globally to combat AIDS are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical companies.