With experts ruling out any disease, SIT to investigate 13 mysterious deaths in Rajouri

Officials suspect that mysterious neurotoxins, localised and possibly having some epidemiological linkage, were behind the three waves of deaths

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the J&K Police and experts was constituted on Wednesday (January 15, 2024) in Jammu’s Rajouri district to investigate the deaths of 13 persons, including 11 children, in the past 40 days, as multiple medical expert bodies ruled out any spread of disease in the area.

Panic gripped Budhal tehsil of Rajouri on December 7, 2024, after five people were reported dead due to mysterious illness at Badhal village. The J&K government sent multiple teams from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; the National Institute of Virology (NIV)-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). These teams gathered samples from the affected persons, even as a fresh wave of deaths hit the village this month too.

“Five deaths were reported in the first instance on December 7, 2024. Experts conducted testing of 3,500 locals immediately. Samples, including water and food, were also tested by experts. In the second instance, three more persons died. Teams from outside were asked to conduct more tests. In the third instance, almost after 40 days, five more deaths were reported. If it was an infection, it would not stop and spread again. Tests have come negative locally and outside as well. No virus was found,” J&K Health Minister Sakinoo Itoo said.

Ruling out any spread of disease in the area, Ms. Itoo said, “Eleven children were among 13 deaths so far. These deaths are within three families. One family is 1.5 km away from each other. They all are related to each other. In case of disease, it could have spread to other areas in 40 days. It’s a matter of investigation now.”

The Health Minister said the local administration and the police will investigate these deaths. Meanwhile, Congress MLA Rajouri Iftkar Ahmed demands a magisterial inquiry into mysterious deaths in Rajouri. “Deaths are not stopping. It’s a matter of concern. It needs to be identified if it is a conspiracy or some case of food poisoning,” Mr. Ahmed said. 

On Tuesday (January 14, 2024), J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a meeting of all the concerned from divisional and district administrations along with health “to identify the real causes behind the mysterious deaths”.

Officials suspect that mysterious neurotoxins, localised and possibly having some epidemiological linkage, were behind the three waves of deaths. A government spokesman said experts after carrying out extensive microbiological studies found “no viral, bacterial or microbial infection behind 13 deaths out of 38 affected individuals”.

“These deaths were found to be localised and possibly having some epidemiological linkage. It was also given out that certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased persons which is further investigated to know more about it,” the spokesman said.

Mr. Dulloo on Tuesday had directed the Health and Police Departments to assess the reports received from different institutes of repute to identify the real cause of these deaths. “The Police Department should utilize the best of their resources to study these reports along with using other scientific measures to reach the conclusion. The Health Department should study these reports to find the reasonable leads causing these deaths,” Mr. Dulloo said.

Meanwhile, a SIT was constituted on Wednesday to expedite the inquest proceedings into the mysterious deaths.

The SIT, chaired by Superintendent of Police (Operations), Budhal, Wajahat Hussain, includes officers from various police units and experts from multiple fields. Specialists from the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Microbiology, Pediatrics, and Pathology Departments have been included to provide scientific and medical insights. 

“The team will also leverage the expertise of professionals from the Food Safety, Agriculture, and Jal Shakti (PHE) Departments, as well as the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Jammu, to aid in the investigation,” the official said.

The progress of the inquiry will be shared with the District Police Office, Rajouri, on a weekly basis for further submission to higher authorities.

Published - January 15, 2025 08:23 pm IST