The Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached two residential flats in Chennai’s Kodambakkam area on Dec. 2, 2025, in its money-laundering investigation involving Sresan Pharmaceuticals and its proprietor, G. Ranganathan. Reports valued the properties at about ₹2.04 crore. Scroll’s Dec. 4 report described Coldrif as linked to the deaths of 25 children; other dated reports gave different totals, so 25 should be understood as Scroll’s reported figure, not a single settled count.
What the ED attached
The ED provisionally attached two apartments in Kodambakkam, Chennai, belonging to Ranganathan and family members. PTI, in a report published by Business Standard, and Scroll reported a combined value of approximately ₹2.04 crore. The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to those reports. Business Standard Scroll
A provisional attachment is an enforcement action during an investigation; it is not, by itself, a final court judgment that the property is liable to be confiscated or that a person is guilty. The reports available here do not establish the later court disposition of the attachment or the final outcome of the money-laundering and criminal cases.
Why the ED says it acted
According to PTI’s account, the ED’s probe drew on two FIRs: one registered by Madhya Pradesh Police in the Coldrif investigation, and another complaint by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption concerning an alleged bribery case involving P. U. Karthikeyan, then described as director-in-charge of the state Food Safety and Drug Administration Department. The allegations in those FIRs are distinct from a final judicial finding. Business Standard
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Allegations about manufacturing and oversight
The ED alleged that Sresan used industrial-grade raw materials in medicines instead of pharmaceutical-grade materials, without proper quality checks. It also alleged some materials were bought for cash without invoices. “Such materials were being purchased in cash without invoices to avoid creation of records,” the ED said, as quoted by PTI and published by Business Standard.
The same report said the ED alleged that mandated annual inspections were not carried out despite contact between Ranganathan and Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department officials. These remain allegations attributed to the agency, not findings established by a court in the cited reporting.
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What reports say about Coldrif and the safety response
Scroll reported that Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacture produced Coldrif in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district. It said Tamil Nadu’s director of drugs control found samples not of standard quality on Oct. 2, 2025, and that Madhya Pradesh reported a Coldrif sample containing 48.6% diethylene glycol (DEG) three days later. Scroll stated that the permissible impurity limit it cited was 0.1%. Scroll
Scroll reported that Tamil Nadu revoked the manufacturer’s licence and shut the company, and that several states, including Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, banned the formulation. Business Standard also reported Tamil Nadu’s order to close the company. The contamination findings and regulatory actions do not establish that every reported death was independently proven to have been caused by Coldrif.
Why the reported death toll differs
The figure of 25 comes from Scroll’s Dec. 4, 2025 headline and article, which said Coldrif was linked to 25 children’s deaths in Madhya Pradesh. Coverage published at different times reported other numbers. These are dated outlet accounts, not necessarily a like-for-like official final tally.
| Report | Reported toll | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Business Standard, Dec. 3, 2025 | At least 20 | PTI report on the ED attachment; Business Standard |
| The Telegraph, Dec. 2025 | At least 22 | Its report used a different count; The Telegraph |
| Scroll, Dec. 4, 2025 | 25 | Scroll’s headline and account described the syrup as linked to 25 deaths; Scroll |
| Medical Dialogues, Aug. 26, 2026 | 24 | The later report cited Parasia Sub Divisional Officer of Police Jitendra Kumar Jaat; Medical Dialogues |
The counts should not be combined or presented as a definitive final toll without a dated primary official source. A report that says a medicine was “linked to” deaths does not, on its own, resolve individual causation.
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What is and is not established about the case
- Enforcement action: Two Chennai flats were provisionally attached under the PMLA, with reports putting their value at about ₹2.04 crore.
- Agency and police allegations: The ED described alleged manufacturing, record-keeping and inspection failures; the FIRs concern the Coldrif investigation and a separate alleged bribery matter.
- Regulatory response: Reports say Tamil Nadu revoked Sresan’s licence and closed the company, while several states banned the formulation.
- Judicial outcome: The cited reports do not establish a final finding of guilt or the later court disposition of the provisional attachment.
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