NEW DELHI: A senior doctor in Rajasthan who drank a cough syrup to reassure anxious parents later collapsed unconscious, as the medicine has been linked to the deaths of at least two children and several others falling ill in the state. Dr Tarachand Yogi, in charge of the Bayana community health centre, consumed a dose of the syrup on 24 September in front of worried families. Eight hours later, he was found unconscious in his car, raising alarm over the safety of the widely distributed medicine. The Rajasthan government has since banned 22 batches of the syrup, recalled existing stock and launched an inquiry.Over 1.33 lakh bottles of the syrup were distributed in the state since July, officials said, with 8,200 still in storage at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital, news agency PTI reported. Concerns mounted after a five-year-old boy from Sikar district died on Monday, hours after being given the syrup prescribed at a community health centre. His death followed an earlier case on 22 September in Bharatpur, where two-year-old Samrat Jatav died after consuming the same medicine. “Three of my grandchildren took the syrup. Two eventually woke up after vomiting, but Samrat never regained consciousness. We only realised later that the medicine was the cause,” the child’s grandmother Nehni Jatav told reporters. Doctors confirmed that eight other children between the ages of one and five fell ill in Banswara district last week after consuming the syrup. Drug Controller Ajay Phatak said inspectors had collected samples from Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Bharatpur. “The syrup should not be administered to children below five years of age. Test results are expected within three days,” he told reporters. Authorities said the syrup was supplied by Kayson Pharma, whose deliveries have now been halted. Doctors across Rajasthan have been instructed to stop prescribing the drug immediately.