Mystery deepens over 17 deaths in Rajouri village
Jammu: The unexplained deaths of 17 people, including 13 children and 4 adults, in Badhaal village of Rajouri district in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), continue to shroud in mystery, as authorities remain unable to determine the cause of the fatalities even after two months.
According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS), despite the return of 350 quarantined residents to their homes after 22 days in isolation facilities, uncertainty persists. Additionally, 40 individuals remain under round-the-clock medical surveillance at a special ward in Government Medical College Associated Hospital, Rajouri.
A doctor treating the affected villagers expressed frustration over the lack of a clear diagnosis.
“It has been over two months since the first deaths occurred, yet the cause remains unknown. Experts should have prioritized investigating samples, and results should have been available by now. Without knowing the exact cause, how are we supposed to treat patients? There is no follow-up treatment or medical protocol for such an unknown illness,” he said.
As the cause of death remains unidentified, authorities have seized all grain and ration stocks in Badhaal village. Authorities have ordered the seizure of all grain and ration stocks in Badhaal village. Indian officials said that although investigation on the cause of 17 mysterious deaths in Badhaal village is going on, they have seized the material as a precautionary measure.
Pertinently, India’s premier health research body, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has ruled out infectious agents as the cause behind the mysterious deaths in Badhaal village, shifting the investigation towards potential toxic exposure. Experts now suspect that a toxin—possibly from contaminated food, water, pesticides, heavy metals, or volatile substances—could be responsible for the fatalities. As a result, the case has been handed over to specialized toxicology labs, including the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) in Lucknow and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) in Gwalior, to determine the precise cause.
Meanwhile, local residents have alleged that the Indian Army may have deliberately contaminated the village’s water source.
