Nearly 200 people from Baddal village moved to Rajouri town for continuous monitoring, strict curbs on the movement of those who remain in the village, and surveillance by newly installed CCTV cameras – these are among measures by the Jammu and Kashmir administration against the backdrop of 17 deaths and four hospitalisations of unexplained causes in the village.
Since December, 17 people from three families at Baddal village in Rajouri have died, with authorities from J&K and the Centre scrambling to figure out why. Just when officials expressed apprehensions that a baoli (water reservoir) with traces of pesticides could be linked to the deaths, three more minors from one of the families were admitted to the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital in Rajouri with fever and vomiting.
Union minister Jitendra Singh has said that preliminary results from a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) toxicology laboratory in Lucknow indicated the presence of a toxin in the bodies of the deceased. “Now the toxin is being tested,” he said, promising that the “mystery” would be cleared soon.
Authorities have meanwhile moved around 200 people – the surviving members of the three families and their contacts – to the Nursing College in Rajouri. They are being monitored 24×7 by a dedicated team of doctors and medical staff.
Police personnel have also been deployed at the nursing college and at the hospital to ensure that no unauthorised persons come in or go out of the isolation wards in the nursing college and GMC, officials said.
At Baddal village, which has around 1,800 people, nearly half of the population now falls under containment zones. A senior official told The Indian Express that the movement of residents has been restricted. They have been asked to stay home and cook using only the provisions provided to them by the administration three times a day. Bottled water is also being provided to them for their daily consumption, the official said.
CCTV cameras are being installed at key points in the village to monitor movements and ensure compliance with all government instructions, the official said. Police personnel have been deployed at the village to ensure no one moves out of the containment zones.
The containment zones were established after the latest series of hospitalisations on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Multiple government agencies are investigating the deaths, and an inter-ministerial team, set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, visited Baddal recently to look into the matter.
When The Indian Express visited the village earlier this week, residents had recalled that the deaths started after one of the families hosted a wedding ceremony at the beginning of December.
The J&K Police has also set up a special investigation team to probe the matter, while the district administration has sealed the baoli.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Badhaal village to offer condolences to the grieving families of 17 victims. (Source: X/@diprjk)
Dr Shuja Qadri, a senior epidemiologist and head of the Community Medicines Department at GMC, Rajouri, said that several tests have ruled out viruses or bacteria as the cause of the deaths.
More than 200 food and water samples have been sent for screening to various institutes across the country, he said.
CM Omar Abdullah visits Baddal village
The J&K government has also dismissed fears of a public health crisis and asked residents to remain calm. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village this week and assured residents of his government’s commitment to finding the truth behind the deaths.
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