Diplomat Desk
Jammu :DD- A high-level inter-ministerial team of experts is arriving in Jammu today to investigate the mysterious deaths that have claimed 16 lives in Budhal village of Rajouri district. The team, constituted under the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, brings together specialists from multiple Union ministries to address the troubling situation that has gripped the region since December 8.
The expert panel shall consist of persons nominated by the Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Chemicals and Fertilisers, and Water Resources ministries along with local departments of Jammu and Kashmir to include forensic sciences, animal husbandry, and food safety departments. They aim to investigate a mysterious illness, which has mostly killed three families in the sub-division Kotranka with one family suffering the death of five of seven members.
Laboratory tests have also brought in alarming reports wherein the presence of toxins was detected while viral and bacterial infections were ruled out. In this regard, principal government medical college Rajouri Dr. A.S. Bhatia also highlighted this matter at a press conference in Budhal village where he mentioned that late treatment has resulted in the patients getting irreversible damage in their brain since the patients who suffered symptoms of high fever, excessive sweating, and unconsciousness.
The case has taken a potentially sinister turn as the UT government has directed the Rajouri police to investigate possible criminal angles, noting the concentrated nature of deaths within specific families. As a precautionary measure, the affected families have been isolated, following a comprehensive health screening of 3,500 residents in Budhal and surrounding villages.
The Rajouri police have also formed a Special Investigation Team that will probe into these incidents in tandem with the probe being conducted by the newly arrived inter-ministerial team. Such a multi-pronged investigation reflects the authority’s determination to uncover the facts behind these tragic deaths and prevent such casualties from taking place again in the future.DD