Rajouri mystery deaths: SIT questions 100 people, but no new clues

Srinagar: As mystery around 17 deaths in Badhaal village of border Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir continues, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the incident has questioned nearly 100 people so far.

Seventeen persons belonging to three families linked to each other have died under mysterious circumstances in the village between December 7 and January 19.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear, with local as well as national health authorities, including National Centre for Disease Control, yet to pinpoint the cause of the deaths.

The 11-member SIT, composed of police officers, forensic experts, pathologists, health officials, and other specialists, has been tasked with probing the mysterious deaths. The team is exploring multiple possibilities, including food poisoning, contamination of water sources, and exposure to toxic substances.

“We questioned around a hundred people, including those who were present at the wedding where the first cases surfaced. However, there is no concrete clue yet as it is proving to be a complex mystery,” a senior police officer involved in the investigations told DH.

However, he assured that the team was working diligently to piece together the mystery, adding, “We are putting in our best efforts to ascertain the cause of these tragic deaths.”

The baffling nature of the deaths has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty in Badhal village, with locals anxiously awaiting answers. Besides questioning people, extensive forensic and medical tests have been conducted by the SIT.

Over 12,500 samples, including blood, plasma, food, water, and environmental specimens, have been collected and sent to national health agencies for analysis. However, initial tests have ruled out viral and bacterial infections as the cause.

The tragic sequence of events began on December 5, 2024, when the first signs of illness appeared in Badhaal, a village located about 60 kilometers from Rajouri town. The incident has now become a national health concern, prompting assistance from health experts and a high-level inter-ministerial team to aid in the investigation.

To contain the spread of a mysterious illness among villagers, the authorities on Wednesday imposed restrictions, by declaring the entire area as a containment zone.

Dr. Shuja Qadri, Senior Epidemiologist and Head of the Department of Community Medicine at Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, said that initial investigations suggest the cause may be related to some form of toxicity in the food chain.

However, he emphasized that there is no evidence to suggest that this is an outbreak of a communicable illness.

As the investigation continues, the people of Badhaal remain on edge, anxiously awaiting answers to the devastating loss of life that has rocked their close-knit community.