Bharatpur– A 30-year-old woman in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district is fighting for her life after suffering a severe adverse reaction to Kaysons Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide cough syrup, amplifying fears over the Jaipur-based manufacturer’s products amid a rash of child fatalities and hospitalizations across the state.
Pinky, a resident of Ward Number 8 in Nadbai town, took two capfuls of the syrup—prescribed two months earlier by Nadbai Hospital for a recurring cough and cold—around 11 PM on Wednesday. Within 14 hours, she was gripped by intense restlessness, nausea with an uneasy stomach, parched lips, and numbness spreading through her hands and feet. “I felt my body turning against me—panic rising, limbs going cold and unresponsive,” Pinky recounted from her hospital bed, where she was first rushed to Nadbai Hospital before being referred to the bustling RBM District Hospital in Bharatpur. Her father-in-law, who accompanied her, stayed behind to care for her three young children, while her husband Anand, employed in Gurgaon, rushed back upon hearing the news.
This harrowing episode, reported just days after the state-wide suspension of all Kaysons Pharma medicines, echoes a deadly pattern linked to the firm’s dextromethorphan hydrobromide syrup, distributed under Rajasthan’s free medicine scheme. Since late September, at least five children have succumbed— including 5-year-old Nitish in Sikar, who collapsed overnight after a single dose on September 29, hiccupping once before going to bed and never waking; 2-year-old Tirthraj in Bayana tehsil, Bharatpur, who died on September 22 after treatment for cough at a primary health center; his sibling who survived by vomiting the syrup; 3-year-old Gagan Kumar in Bayana, hospitalized September 24 after similar symptoms; and brothers Teerthraj and Samrat Jatav in Bharatpur, lost within days of ingestion in early September. A 3-year-old in Bharatpur and a 2-year-old girl in Jaipur’s Sanganer were also critically ill, with the latter shifting from ICU to general ward after emergency care.
The crisis peaked dramatically on October 1 when Dr. Tarachand Yogi, in-charge at Kalsara Community Health Centre in Bharatpur, ingested the syrup himself—along with two ambulance staffers—to reassure parents after Gagan Kumar’s mother complained of its effects. All three soon exhibited vomiting, dizziness, and collapse, with the doctor fainting en route to the hospital, forcing an immediate statewide ban on the drug.
Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL) flagged complaints on September 28-29 for batches KL-25/147 and KL-25/148, supplied to over 1.3 lakh patients since June with no prior alerts. The Jaipur firm, blacklisted for two years in 2022 over supply defaults and flagged for a substandard batch in 2023, now faces a three-member probe committee expecting lab results by October 17. Rajasthan Drug Controller Ajay Phatak confirmed the suspension of all 40+ Kaysons batches pending tests, while the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) dispatched teams to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh—where nine child deaths from kidney failure were reported—to collect samples. Over 40 samples have failed quality checks in the past two years, though preliminary reports from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on October 3 found “no contamination,” labeling some death links “unsubstantiated.”
Pinki’s family demands accountability, with her husband Anand vowing, “She trusted the hospital’s stock—now we wait for answers.” As the Health Ministry reiterates no syrups for toddlers and vows stricter audits, the Kaysons saga spotlights India’s OTC drug vulnerabilities, where cost-cutting claims young lives. Investigations intensify, but for grieving kin, the cough that kills lingers unspoken.
