J&K: ‘Mysterious illness’ kills one more in Rajouri, SIT set up

The police have constituted a special investigation team to probe the mysterious death of 14 people, including 11 children, belonging to three families in a remote village in Rajouri district, officials said on Wednesday.

A 10-year-old girl died due to a mysterious illness at SMGS Hospital here on Wednesday evening. The deceased was identified as Zabeena Kouser, 10, of Badhaal village in Rajouri.

“A 10-member SIT headed by SP operations Wajahat Hussain has been constituted. The SIT includes forensic experts, health officials including pathologists, and agricultural experts,” said people familiar with the development.

The SIT will submit its findings every week to the Rajouri district police authorities, including the SSP.

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“The girl was on a ventilator and she died around 9.10 pm. Her body has been shifted to the mortuary of the government medical college at Bakshi Nagar,” said a senior health official. It was the sixth death since Sunday, which has now taken the toll to 14 since December 7 last year.

The Jammu and Kashmir health authorities on Wednesday said that “certain neurotoxins” were found in the plasma samples of the 13 people from three related families who had died of a mysterious illness at Badhaal village in Rajouri district since December 7 last year.

“Neurotoxins have been found in the samples of those who died due to the mysterious illness. However, further investigations are on to draw a conclusive report,” a senior government health official said, requesting anonymity.

The illness that has claimed 13 lives, including 11 children, has left health experts from across the country baffled.

Neurotoxins are toxins that adversely affect brain function. Their prolonged intake can also cause death.

However, in the instant case, the J&K health authorities have not yet precisely pointed out the type of neurotoxins found in the plasma of the dead. Masood said, “Had there been a disease or infection, it would have gripped the entire village. All 13 deaths have taken place in three families inter-related to each other.”

On Wednesday, chief secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a meeting of divisional and district administration officials along with health experts from national health institutions to take stock of the measures taken so far and to identify the cause behind the deaths.

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Besides the secretary, of health and medical education, the meeting was attended by ADGP, Jammu, divisional commissioner, Jammu; DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range; Rajouri DC and SP; GMC, Jammu and Rajouri, principals; director, health services, Jammu, and experts from PGIMER, CSIR, National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and DRDO.

The experts said after microbiological studies, no viral, bacterial or microbial infection was found to cause the deaths. They were localised and possibly had an epidemiological linkage. It was also given out that certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased, which is being investigated.