23 arrested in connection with contaminated cough syrup deaths in Uzbekistan

New Delhi: 23 individuals, including an Indian national, have been sentenced to jail in Uzbekistan over the deaths of 68 children linked to tainted cough syrup.

The court verdict was delivered at the Tashkent City Court, where the defendants faced charges ranging from tax evasion to the sale of substandard or counterfeit medicines, abuse of office, negligence, forgery, and bribery.

The jail sentences handed down ranged from two to 20 years, reflecting the gravity of the offences committed. The toll of fatalities, previously estimated at 65, surged during the six-month trial, with prosecutors adding three more losses just last month.

The origins of the contaminated syrups are traced back to Marion Biotech in Noida, India, the manufacturer, and Quramax Medical in Uzbekistan, the distributor. Singh Raghvendra Pratar, an executive director at Quramax Medical, received the harshest penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Additionally, Uzbek former high-ranking officials responsible for overseeing the licensing of imported medicines faced lengthy incarcerations, as reported by Reuters news agency.

The tragedy began to unfold when the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the alarm in January, identifying two cough syrups manufactured by Marion Biotech – Ambronol and Dok-1 Max – as "substandard" following the deaths of 18 Uzbekistani children.

Law enforcement authorities took decisive action in December 2022, raiding the premises of Marion Biotech. Subsequently, the health ministry in New Delhi suspended production and the company's license was revoked by the food safety department in Uttar Pradesh, its state of operation. By March, Marion Biotech faced the permanent cancellation of its manufacturing licenses, media reported.

The court also decreed that each family of the 68 deceased children would receive $80,000 in compensation. Furthermore, the same amount would be awarded to the families of four children left disabled in the wake of consuming the contaminated cough syrup.