The Uzbekistan court on Monday sentenced 23 people including one Indian over 68 contaminated cough syrup deaths. The syrup is manufactured by India’s Marian Biotech, following a six-month trial.
The Uzbek court sentenced 23 people, for a period ranging from two to twenty years. Singh Raghvendra Pratar, an Indian origin, and director at Quramax Medical received the longest prison sentence of 20 years. Quramax Medical is a company, which distributes medicines manufactured by India’s Marion Biotech in Uzbekistan.
The Central Asian nation had earlier reported 65 deaths connected to the medicine. But, last month the prosecutors at the Tashkent City court corrected the death toll and said two more people had been arrested during the hearings. The accused were found guilty of tax evasion, sale of substandard or counterfeit medicines, abuse of office, negligence, forgery, and bribery. Senior officers (former), who were in charge of licensing imported medicines were also convicted to lengthy terms.
The Uzbek court decided compensation that amounted to $80,000 (1 billion Uzbek sums) would be paid to each of the families of 68 children, who died from the consumption of contaminated syrup and also four other children who were disabled will also receive the compensation. The court said that parents of eight other children who are affected by the drug will get $16,000 to $40,000, and the compensation would be collected from seven of the inmates.
The cough syrup DOk-1, prepared by Marion Biotech, was found to be associated with the death of 68 children in Uzbekistan in December 2022. After consuming the syrup 86 children suffered poisoning, of which 68 died. The incident directed the central and state drug authorities in India to launch an inquiry into the issue. In March 2023, the Uttar Pradesh authorities cancelled the manufacturing license of the Noida-based company.
As per the FIR filed by the UP police, the samples were sent to Chandigarh’s government’s regional drug testing laboratory, in which 22 of them were found to be not of standard quality (adultery and spurious). The UP police arrested three employees of Marion Biotech and a lookout notice was given to two of its directors.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)