A 2-year-old boy child from Mandya in Karnataka died on Wednesday, after he was allegedly given expired cough syrup.

The Times of India reports that Dikshit’s mother Manasa erroneously administered him expired cough syrup, after finding that her son’s cough was persistent.

Dikshit soon lost consciousness and was rushed to a nearby taluk hospital. The boy had to be taken to another hospital, as the only doctor at the taluk hospital was away carrying out a post-mortem, states the report.

Though the family took Dikshit to a private nursing home, they reportedly refused to admit the boy claiming that he was brought dead. Aggrieved parents took Dikshit back to the government taluk hospital.

Dikshit’s life could not be saved despite efforts by the doctor. His family then accused the duty doctor of medical negligence, maintaining that Dikshit’s life could have been saved if he had been treated when the boy was first brought to the hospital.

Duty doctor Ravi has reportedly denied the allegations.

Rubbishing the allegations against the doctor, District health officer Dr Mohan told ToI that the issue was that the parents administered an expired cough syrup, without seeking medical advice.