
SRINAGAR: The head of a family who lost his wife and three children to a mysterious illness in the remote Badhal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri is deeply frightened and worried about himself and his four surviving children.
Seventeen people, including 13 children and four adults from three families, have died from the mysterious illness in the village over the last 50 days.
Among the affected families is that of Mohammad Rafiq, who lost his wife and three children to the illness.
“Initially, two of my children fell ill and had a fever. I brought some medicines from a local shop, and an injection was also administered to them. They felt relief from the fever that night,” said Mohammad Rafiq.
They had not attended the wedding of Mohammad Fazal’s daughter in the village on December 2, nor had they gone anywhere else. The children only went to school and did not visit any other places.
Rafiq said one of his ailing children died at home, and the two others were taken to a local hospital.
“One of them died while being transferred from Rajouri to Jammu hospital, and another died six days later while being moved to PGI Chandigarh from Jammu hospital after his condition worsened,” he said.
Rafiq added that his wife, who had been caring for the children, also fell ill.
“We referred her to a local hospital, from where she was sent to a hospital in Rajouri. However, the doctors there did not take her condition seriously. Despite knowing that she had lost three children, they made no serious attempts to save her. She died due to medical negligence,” he said.
When asked whether the family had visited the two other affected families (Mohammad Fazal and Mohammad Aslam) in the village, Rafiq responded, “No, neither me nor my family members visited the two families or took any food from them.”
Of his seven children, Rafiq has lost three to the mysterious illness.
When asked whether his four remaining children were experiencing any health issues, he said, “They are fine and don’t have any health problems. There have been no symptoms of the mysterious illness in them so far.”
“I now have two sons and two daughters, and I am very frightened and worried for them. I also fear for myself. If something happens to me, who will take care of my family?” Rafiq said.
“It is a very scary situation, and there is fear all around as the mysterious illness is wiping out entire families. I have lost four members, Fazal’s family has lost five, including the family head, and Aslam’s family has lost eight members,” he added.
Rafiq urged the government to determine the cause of the deaths in order to prevent further loss of life in the village.
Meanwhile, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village yesterday and met with the three affected families and other villagers.
He assured the grieving families of full support and assistance from his government.
“The government’s priority is to ensure the prevention of such incidents in the future and to put an immediate end to the spate of unfortunate deaths. A detailed investigation is underway to determine the cause of this tragedy,” the CM said.