Contaminated cough syrup tragedy: NHRC steps in, demands investigation
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a call to action, demanding an investigation into the alleged deaths of children linked to contaminated cough syrup. The commission has issued notices to the state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, directing them to probe the shocking claims and immediately ban the sale of spurious medicines.
In a bold move, the NHRC has also ordered key national health authorities, including the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Union health ministry to order an investigation into the supply of spurious drugs and instruct all regional labs in states to collect the samples of spurious drugs and submit test reports.
"The authority is also directed to order all the Chief Drugs Controllers in the concerned states to process immediately banning of the spurious drugs and submit reports," the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a notice.
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Additionally, the Director of Public Health, Telangana, has also instructed all District Medical and Health Officers (DM&HOs) to actively sensitise the public about the alert, which was originally issued on September 4 by the Drugs Control Administration (DCA).
