According to the ED, Sresan Pharma indulged in widespread unfair trade practices.
Published Dec 03, 2025 | 5:19 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 03, 2025 | 5:19 PM
The probe is also looking into the failure of drug inspectors to perform mandatory inspections at Sresan Pharma’s facilities over the past two years.
Synopsis: The properties, located in Kodambakkam and valued at ₹2.04 crore, were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Ranganathan, who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in October, is accused of profiting from illegal manufacturing practices that allegedly led to the poisoning.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached two residential flats in Chennai belonging to G. Ranganathan, promoter of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the company linked to the Coldrif cough syrup tragedy that claimed at least 20 children’s lives in Madhya Pradesh.
The properties, located in Kodambakkam and valued at ₹2.04 crore, were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Ranganathan, who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in October, is accused of profiting from illegal manufacturing practices that allegedly led to the poisoning.
According to the ED, Sresan Pharma indulged in widespread unfair trade practices, including using industry-grade raw materials instead of pharma-grade without adequate quality checks.
Investigators found that raw materials were routinely purchased in cash without invoices to avoid documentation. Further, laboratory tests conducted earlier confirmed that Coldrif contained dangerously high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), toxic chemicals that caused acute renal failure in children.
The money-laundering case stems from two FIRs — one filed in Madhya Pradesh over the deaths, and another by the Tamil Nadu Police in a separate DVAC bribery case involving P.U. Karthikeyan, the director in-charge of the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration.
The ED has alleged that despite being in regular contact with the company, officials of the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department did not conduct mandatory annual inspections as required under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.
In October, the ED initiated probe into Sresan Pharmaceuticals, and held raids at seven locations in Chennai, and conducted coordinated raids at the residence of G Ranganathan, the company’s owner, in Kodambakkam, and properties associated with senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department.
Following the deaths, both Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu suspended two drug inspectors each, while an FDA deputy director in Madhya Pradesh was also removed from duty.
The Tamil Nadu government ordered the closure of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, as regulators and central agencies continue to investigate how systemic lapses and alleged corruption enabled the adulterated cough syrup to enter the market.
The devastating tragedy unfolded between early September and late September 2025, when at least 16 children died in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after consuming contaminated cough syrup.
Lab reports from both Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu confirmed the presence of DEG in alarming concentrations—over 46 percent in the Madhya Pradesh lab report and 48.6 percent in the Tamil Nadu lab report. The permissible limit for DEG is just 0.1 percent, meaning these medicines contained nearly 500 times the acceptable concentration of the toxic substance.
The tragedy unfolded primarily in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, where six children died between 4-26 September.
The contaminated Coldrif syrup (Batch No. SR-13, manufactured in May 2025 with expiry in April 2027) was manufactured by Sresan Pharma, located in Sunguvarchathiram, Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu.
Following the incidents, Tamil Nadu authorities apart from shutting down the manufacturing facility, also imposed a statewide ban on Coldrif sales effective 1 October.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Veni EN)
