Uzbekistan: 21 people including Indian sentenced in case of death of 68 children due to cough syrup

The Supreme Court of Central Asian country Uzbekistan on Monday sentenced 21 people in the case of death of 68 children by drinking cough syrup produced in India. An Indian businessman is also included among those punished. At least 86 children were given poisonous cough syrup between 2022 and 2023 in Uzbekistan. 68 children died due to this.

Indian citizen Singh Raghavendra Pratap is the director of the company importing Doc-1 Max syrup in Uzbekistan. The court there has sentenced him to the harshest punishment of 20 years. According to the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, they have found Raghavendra Pratap guilty of corruption, fraud and forgery.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in January 2023 that samples of Cup syrup showed that it was contaminated with either diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol. These are toxic substances used as industrial solvents, which can be fatal if consumed even in small quantities.

After the case, the Indian government had canceled the production license of cough syrup manufacturing company Marion Biotech. During the same period, 70 children in Gambia died after using another cough syrup imported from India. The kidneys of all the children had failed.

Similarly, in Indonesia also, more than 200 children died between 2022 and 2023 due to drinking such cough syrup.