JAMMU: A day after test reports found neurotoxins in the samples of 14 people who died from a mysterious illness in a Rajouri village since Dec 7, Jammu and Kashmir govt formed an SIT on Thursday, comprising police and medical experts, to probe the deaths.
“An 11-member SIT, headed by Budhal SP Wajahat Hussain, includes experts from the depts of forensic medicine and toxicology, microbiology, pediatrics, and pathology,” said Rajouri SSP Gaurav Sikarwar.
Saif Ali Khan Health Update
The death toll in Badhaal village in Rajouri’s Kotranka rose to 15, including 12 children, after 10-year-old Mohd Aslam-Zabeena Kouser died during treatment at SMGS Hospital in Jammu on Wednesday night.
The tragedy came to light on Dec 7, when seven members of a family fell ill after a community meal, and five of them died. On Dec 12, another family of nine fell ill, and three of them died. On Jan 12, a family of ten fell ill after consuming another community meal, and six children died in the hospital.
The deaths sparked fears that a mysterious viral, bacterial, or microbial infection might be responsible, prompting health officials to screen 3,500 locals in Badhaal village and send samples of the deceased to top labs across the country to identify the cause of death.
Test reports dispelled the viral/bacterial infection fears but indicated the presence of certain neurotoxins in the samples.
“All the test reports, including those from Pune’s ICMR, Delhi’s National Centre for Disease Control, Defence Research and Development Establishment in Gwalior, and PGI-Chandigarh, did not find any viral, bacterial, or microbial infection in the samples of the deceased. The probe is on,” state health minister Sakeena Masood said on Wednesday.
