Two months on, no breakthrough in identifying cause of 17 ‘mysterious’ deaths in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri

Srinagar: More than two months after a series of deaths due to a mysterious disease in border district Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, authorities are still grappling to determine the cause.

17 deaths between December 7, 2024, and January 19, 2025, in three families in the remote Badhaal village of Rajouri have puzzled health authorities, including the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

While no new case has been reported in the last three weeks, and all previously admitted patients have recovered, fear and uncertainty continues to prevail among villagers. Families of the recovered patients are anxiously awaiting clearance from the government to return home.

Despite extensive testing and investigations, including consultations with medical experts from AIIMS, New Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh, authorities have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the deaths.

On January 21, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said a probe is underway to unravel the mystery behind 17 deaths and assured people that all questions will be answered ‘soon.’

“Health authorities are waiting for government approval before allowing the recovered patients to return home. They are currently being kept in hospital observation wards, along with their immediate family members,” a senior government official told DH.

He said they expect the final reports from premier health institutes soon, “after which the government will take a decision.”

A resident of Badhaal said that while the government's preventive measures have helped contain the crisis, they remain deeply concerned about the lack of clarity regarding the cause of deaths.

“The issue should have been treated as a health emergency and resolved on priority. It has been almost a month since high-level teams, including an inter-ministerial delegation, visited the area, yet no concrete findings have been shared,” he said.

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 brought the village national attention and a high-level inter-ministerial team was dispatched to aid in the same. As the investigation continues, the people of Badhaal remain on edge, anxiously awaiting answers to the devastating loss of lives that has rocked their close-knit community.