Jammu: With one more person succumbing Friday to the mystery illness plaguing residents of Badhaal village in Kotranka of Rajouri district, the death toll has risen to 16 since Dec 2024; including five siblings since Jan 12 alone. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, at a high-level meeting later in the day, directed the police and health departments to expedite their probe into the health scare.
The latest victim, Jatti Begam (60), died during treatment at GMC Rajouri Friday morning. Her husband, Mohd Yousuf (62), had earlier succumbed at the same facility four days ago, on Jan 13.
On Jan 12, six minor siblings from Badhaal — relatives of the elderly couple — were admitted to GMC Rajouri after developing symptoms of fever, sweating, vomiting, and dehydration. They were shifted to Jammu’s SMGS hospital after their condition deteriorated. Since hospitalisation, five of the siblings have succumbed while the sixth — Yasmeen Kouser (15) — remains on ventilator support in critical condition at the facility.
Earlier in Dec 2024, nine persons from two families of Badhaal had died of similar symptoms. These families were related to each other and that of the siblings, officials said. District authorities have sealed three houses belonging to the affected families and shifted 21 people to govt accommodations under strict monitoring. A team led by additional deputy commissioner Dil Mir carried out the operation with security personnel deployed at the sites, officials said.
Meanwhile, CM Omar Abdullah convened a meeting with senior officials of police and health departments — including Sakeena Itoo (minister of health and medical education), Nasir Aslam Wani (advisor to the CM), Atal Dulloo (chief secretary), Dheeraj Gupta (additional chief secretary ), Jammu ADGP Anand Jain; Jammu divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah (secretary, health and medical education) — to review the alarming situation.
The CM condoled the deaths, assuring that J&K govt was treating the situation with the highest priority. “The unexplained nature of these deaths is deeply concerning, and govt is committed to ensuring that the root cause is identified at the earliest. I urge all departments to collaborate and leave no stone unturned in resolving this issue,” he said. At the meeting, police officials said that investigations were underway to determine the root cause of the fatalities, which have been limited to three families residing within 1.5km of each other.
Secretary of Health and Medical Education briefed the CM on steps taken so far. It was informed that health department has maintained an active presence in the area over the past 40 days, providing ambulances, medicines, and essential facilities to address any emergencies. Health department conducted door-to-door surveys of over 3,000 residents in the affected area, collecting and testing samples of water, food, and other materials while all test results, including those for influenza and other possible contaminants, came negative. Additional testing was carried out by premier national institutes, including ICMR, National Institute of Virology, National Centre for Disease Control, CSIR, DRDO, and PGIMER Chandigarh, but no definite cause for the deaths could be identified.
