Two children die after consuming cough syrup in Rajasthan: Negligence behind deaths? Here's what we know
Over the past two years, cough syrup manufactured by Kaysons has reportedly failed multiple quality tests. Yet, each time it was blacklisted, Rajasthan's drug control and procurement systems facilitated its continued supply through Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited.
The deaths of two children in Rajasthan, suspected to be linked to a generic cough syrup supplied to the government, have sparked an inquiry, while 22 batches of the drug have been banned.
The issue caught the attention of authorities only on Monday after a five-year-old from the Sikar district died, hours after being administered the drug at a community health centre in the state, despite another two-year-old succumbing to the same reason on 22 September in Bharatpur, and eight children falling ill after consuming the syrup last week.
News agency PTI reported that a senior medical practitioner—Dr Tarachand Yogi, in charge of the Bayana community health centre—volunteered to consume the syrup to demonstrate that it was safe in front of worried parents on 24 September. Eight hours after taking a dose, he was found unconscious in his car.
Citing Drug Controller Ajay Pathak, PTI further reported on Wednesday that the department had also received several complaints of other children falling ill after consuming the cough syrup.
"Our drug inspector has collected samples from Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Bharatpur, and the test reports are expected within three days. The syrup should not be administered to children below five years of age," Pathak was quoted as saying.
That said, according to officials, over 1.33 lakh bottles of the syrup have already been distributed across the state since July this year. If the syrup is found to be harmful after tests, the problem could be much larger than the current state of affairs seems to suggest.
"Doctors have been asked to stop prescribing the syrup. Samples from all 22 batches are being tested, and supplies from Kayson Pharma have been halted," Jai Singh, executive director for quality control at Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL), said on Wednesday.
The Rajasthan health department has also ordered an inquiry into the matter, but if reports are to be believed, the RMSCL could itself be implicated in the probe.
Gaps in drug testing?
India Today on Thursday reported that over the past two years, the cough syrup, manufactured by Kaysons, had failed quality tests. Still, each time the syrup was blacklisted, Rajasthan's drug control and procurement systems facilitated the continued supply of the drug through RMSCL.
Over the past couple of years, samples have failed quality tests across several areas, including Bhilwara, Sikar, Bahratpur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Banswara and Jodhpur.
While official action was taken against Kaysons and the company was blacklisted, it was allowed back into the tender process, according to the report.
As per India Today, despite the existence of government labs, RMSCL relies on private labs for testing. If one lab declares a drug to be substandard, RMSCL gets the same drug cleared from another lab and, in collusion with officials, secures fresh supply contracts.
An investigative report by Aaj Tak also claimed that over the past five years, more than 100 samples of drugs have failed quality tests annually: 101 samples failed in 2024, and thus far in 2025, 81 samples have failed.
Since January 2019, 915 drug samples have reportedly failed to pass quality checks, raising serious questions about the drugs supplied under the free medicine scheme in the state.