SRINAGAR: More than two months after 17 mysterious deaths in Badhal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, authorities have yet to determine the cause. As a result, around 400 people from 60 families remain in quarantine centres, unable to return to their normal lives.
Since December 7, 2024, 17 people, including 13 children and four adults from three families, have died from an unknown illness in the village. All 38 patients who were undergoing treatment in different hospitals have recovered and been discharged, but the cause of the illness remains a mystery. Experts from national health agencies, including the National Institute of Virology, DRDE Gwalior, PGI Chandigarh, and AIIMS New Delhi, have visited the affected area and collected samples, but no results have been made public.
A doctor who treated the patients expressed frustration over the delay. “It is very unfortunate that health agencies are yet to come out with results of the samples. It is over two months since the first deaths took place, and yet we don't know what caused the mysterious illness.” He questioned whether authorities were hiding something or simply unable to find an answer. “Scientists have failed in their duties. It is a natural emergency, and investigation of samples should have been taken on a priority basis and results should have come by now.”
The doctor also pointed out the difficulties in treating patients without knowing the cause of the illness. “If more cases are reported, what protocol will we follow to treat them? We don’t have any protocol for such patients.”
MLA Budhal Ch Javed Iqbal said he recently met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the issue. “He told me that it is all based on chemicals and whatever is happening is because of some chemical. The CM said it is that type of chemical, which gets dissolved in the body once it's used. And it is not detected in autopsy or viscera tests.” The MLA added that authorities suspect pesticides may be involved, leading to the sealing of about 200 pesticide shops in the village to trace the source. Samples from the village flour mill grinder have also been taken for investigation.
Following the deaths, Badhal village was declared a containment zone, and around 400 villagers were placed in quarantine centers in Rajouri, where authorities are providing food and water. However, the quarantined villagers have grown restless and recently held protests demanding their release.
“They are facing mental health issues and are agitating. They are people who used to roam in forests and breathe in fresh air. We have put them in quarantine without any valid reason, as it has been confirmed that neither it is viral bacteria nor an infectious disease,” said another doctor. He added that the authorities must find a solution, as the village’s food chain has now been disrupted.
Officials confirmed that the district administration has collected 529 samples of insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers from across Rajouri as part of the investigation. “These samples have been sent for testing, and the results may play a crucial role in the investigation,” they said.
Doctors at GMC Rajouri have successfully treated 11 patients of the mysterious illness using the anti-poison drug atropine, which is used to counteract organophosphorus poisoning. The same treatment was also used on patients at GMC Jammu and PGI Chandigarh.
