Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court on Monday sentenced 23 people to prison in connection with the deaths of 68 children linked to contaminated cough syrup manufactured by India’s Marion Biotech, following a six-month-long trial. In this, Indian citizen Singh Raghavendra Pratap has been sentenced to the longest sentence of 20 years. The Central Asian country had earlier reported 65 deaths linked to the drugs.

Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court on Monday sentenced 23 people to prison in connection with the deaths of 68 children linked to contaminated cough syrup manufactured by India’s Marion Biotech, following a six-month-long trial. In this, Indian citizen Singh Raghavendra Pratap has been sentenced to the longest sentence of 20 years.

The Central Asian country previously reported 65 drug-related deaths, but last month prosecutors in a Tashkent city court updated the death toll and said two more people had been charged during a hearing. The accused, including an Indian national, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 20 years.

Former senior officer also sentenced to long sentence

He was found guilty of tax evasion, sale of substandard or counterfeit medicines, abuse of office, negligence, forgery and bribery. Singh Raghavendra Pratap was the executive director of Curemax Medical, a company that sold drugs produced by India’s Marion Biotech in Uzbekistan. Former senior officials who were in charge of licensing imported drugs have also been sentenced to long sentences.

Compensation amount will be recovered from seven culprits

The court said in its decision that the families of each of the 68 children who died after drinking the syrup should be given a compensation of $ 80,000 (100 crore Uzbek rupees), and four other children who were disabled would also be given compensation. Parents of eight other children affected by the drug have also been ordered to pay compensation ranging from $16,000 to $40,000. The court’s decision states that compensation amount will be recovered from the seven culprits.