Srinagar: Even after 14 people including 11 children of three families have died mysteriously in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, the government is clueless about finding the reasons behind the deaths.
Panic and fear have gripped the village Badhaal of Rajouri district where the deaths have occurred and after rigorous testing of food, water and blood samples, the government has no clues.
"We are yet to find the reason for the deaths. The different tests done in the previous cases and these cases all came negative, but nothing was found in them about the deaths. We are doing some more tests to find the reasons," J&K Health Minister Sakeena Itoo told reporters in Srinagar.
She said the deaths were under control since December 2024 when the first few cases were reported. "There was some social function on January 9 in the village where seven children were infected. Some of them were referred to Jammu and Rajouri medical institutions but some of them succumbed," she added.
Officials sources said the children had symptoms of fever, sweating, vomiting, and dehydration after consuming food (sweet rice) at a social gathering which was held by their grandfather.
The first cases of deaths, mostly children were reported in December 2024 when nine persons died under mysterious circumstances. The fresh wave of fear spread two days ago when six more children were reported to hospitals and among them three died in Jammu hospital and three are admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.
Officials said the cases of deaths in December were reported from two families who are related to each other. "The fresh cases are also from the family which is related to the previous two families," sources said.
One more 6-year-girl was reported dead this evening, taking the deaths to 14 now. MLA from Budhal Javaid Iqbal Choudhary said that the unfortunate loss of several people in the Badhaal area still remains a mystery despite the best possible scientific investigations.
"I have appealed to people to stay alert but don't panic. I continue to follow the case at multiple levels, including the medical and police investigations to find out the reasons behind these tragic deaths,” Choudhary said. Officials said that aggressive contact tracing and sampling by the Health Department teams are being carried out.
"A total of 272 samples were taken today to identify and address potential health risks. Food and water samples had already been collected on Sunday to ascertain the quality and safety of essential supplies in the region," officials said.
A team of the Health Department, led by Director Health Jammu, Dr. Rakesh Mangotra, and accompanied by Chief Medical Officer Rajouri, Dr. Manohar Rana, is camping at Kandi Kotranka to oversee the operations. The administration has also stationed a mobile medical unit and ambulance on standby to address any emergent medical needs, officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir Police have also begun an investigation to find whether any mischief may have been done in these deaths. In December, medical teams from the National Institute of Virology (Pune), PGI Chandigarh, AIIMS, New Delhi and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) rushed to the Badhaal villages for bio-medical tests.
Officials said the teams found no viral or bacterial infection of water or other samples. “Samples were taken by the Forensic Science Laboratory whose reports are awaited,” they said. Locals have demanded a rigorous investigation to know how these deaths took place.
“The government must take effective and rigorous testing and investigations by medical and other investigating agencies to know the causes of these deaths. People in Rajouri and particularly in Badhaal village are in fear and grief," said Guftar Choudhary, a social and political activist from Rajouri.