Indian police have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical company after a cough syrup made at his plant was linked to the deaths of at least 21 children, officials said on Thursday.

Most of the children, all aged under five, died in Madhya Pradesh state over the past month after they were prescribed the syrup, which was contaminated with a deadly toxin.

Cough syrups manufactured in India have come under global scrutiny in recent years, with deaths linked to their consumption reported in several countries, damaging its reputation as the third-largest producer of drugs and pharmaceuticals by volume.

G. Ranganathan, 75, was arrested early on Thursday morning at his home in Chennai by police from the city and from Madhya Pradesh.

He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murde

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