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Jammu: Rajouri mysterious illness toll 15 after 60-yr-old woman’s death
Cops inspect pesticide and chemist shops in the area to investigate possibility of poisoning; investigations so far indicate that the deaths are not due to a communicable disease
A 60-year-old woman from the remote Badhaal village died due to a mysterious illness at Government Medical College and Hospital in Rajouri on Friday morning, taking the toll to 15 since December 7 last year.
Jatti Begum is the latest victim of the illness that has left 15 members of three inter-related families dead. She is the wife of 62-year-old Mohammad Yousuf, who had died on January 13. She was taken to the Rajouri hospital on Thursday evening after her health deteriorated. “Despite all efforts, she died around 7.30am on Friday,” said Dr Shamim Choudhary, the medical superintendent.
Yousuf’s nephew Mohammad Aslam’s sixth and last child, Yasmeen Akhter Kouser, 16, was put on ventilator at the Sri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital in Jammu on Thursday evening. Aslam has lost five children to the illness.
“The condition of Aslam’s eldest daughter remains critical. In all 15 deaths so far, we observed that the patient sweats profusely before having fever and then the nervous system gets involved,” a senior health official said.
“Investigations and samples empirically indicate that the incidents are not due to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin and that there is no public health angle. All samples have tested negative for any viral or bacteriological etiology,” he added.
However, the toxicological analysis conducted by CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) has detected toxins in multiple biological specimens.
Amid speculation of a property dispute and internal enmity, the Rajouri police formed a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the deaths. Being headed by SP (operations) Wajahat Hussain, the SIT inspected pesticide and chemist shops in the area to investigate the possibility of poisoning.
“Since these deaths are not caused by any viral infection or disease and certain neurotoxins have been found in the plasma of the deceased, we are investigating all possible angles including poisoning and other factors including possible enmity over property,” said a police officer, who declined to be identified.
The police have also sealed the three houses of the affected families at Badhaal village. These houses are located in the vicinity of 1.5 km from each other.
The incident came to light on December 7, 2024, when a family of seven fell ill after a community meal, resulting in five fatalities. On December 12, a family of nine related to them got affected, claiming three lives. Exactly a month later on January 12, a family of 10 fell ill after consuming another community meal with six children requiring hospitalisation. Of them, five children have died and the sixth is critical.
A woman, related one of the three families, died due to pregnancy related complications.
Tests on different samples have been conducted in some of the most reputed labs of the country. These include National Institute of Virology in Pune, National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, National Institute of Toxicology and Research, Lucknow, Defence Research Development Establishment, Gwalior, the Microbiology Department of PGIMER in Chandigarh besides the ICMR-Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory and GMC in Jammu, said an official statement issued here.
Experts from some of the most reputed institutions of the country have been arranged to manage the situation and understand the causative factors of the deaths.
