Synopsis
The alarming rise of unexplained deaths in Budhaal village, Rajouri district, J&K, has reached a toll of 16. An elderly woman passed away, prompting authorities to intensify investigations into the root cause of these mysterious fatalities.Key Takeaways
- The death toll from mysterious illnesses in Rajouri has risen to 16.
- Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the deaths.
- Health department has actively surveyed over 3,000 residents.
- All tests for potential viral or bacterial infections have returned negative.
- Three families are primarily affected by these fatalities.
Jammu, Jan 17 (NationPress) The death toll in the mysterious fatalities in J&K’s Rajouri district has climbed to 16 following the passing of an elderly woman from Budhaal village on Friday. Officials confirmed that the count of deaths in Budhaal village has reached 16 as a 60-year-old woman, Jatti Begum, succumbed at the government medical college hospital in Rajouri.
Within a span of 45 days, 16 fatalities have been reported in Budhaal village, and thorough analyses conducted at various leading laboratories across the nation have excluded any viral or bacterial infections as the cause.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah convened a high-level meeting on Friday to address the alarming trend of unexplained deaths in Budhaal village. He instructed the health and police departments to accelerate their investigations into this distressing situation.
“The unexplained nature of these fatalities raises significant concern, and the government is dedicated to identifying the underlying cause promptly. I urge all departments to work together and explore every avenue to resolve this matter,” he stated.
Dr. Syed Abid Rashid Shah, Secretary/Commissioner, briefed the chief minister on the measures taken to determine the precise cause of these deaths. He noted that the health department has maintained an ongoing presence in the region for the past 40 days, providing ambulances, medications, and essential services to address emergencies.
Health department teams have conducted extensive door-to-door surveys of over 3,000 residents in the impacted area, collecting and testing samples of water, food, and other materials. All test results, including those for influenza and other potential contaminants, returned negative.
Further testing was conducted by esteemed national institutions, such as ICMR, National Institute of Virology, National Centre for Disease Control, CSIR, DRDO, and PGIMER Chandigarh, yet no definitive cause for the fatalities has been established.
Police officials indicated that investigations are ongoing to ascertain the root cause of the deaths, which have been confined to three families living within 1.5 kilometers of one another.
The meeting included participation from Minister of Health & Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, Advisor to the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani; Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, Dheeraj Gupta; ADGP Jammu, Anand Jain; Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar; Secretary Health & Medical Education, Dr. Syed Abid Rashid Shah, along with other senior medical and police officials.
