Mystery toxin behind illness that killed 17 in J&K's Rajouri, says Union minister

The illness has so far claimed 17 lives and affected 38 people in Jammu and Kashmir since early December 2024.

Updated on: Jan 23, 2025, 16:34:29 IST

By HT News Desk

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Addressing the ongoing probe into the mysterious illness that has claimed at least 17 lives so far, Union Minister Jitendra Singh revealed some new findings about the conditions.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during his visit to Budhal village, where 16 died due to a mysterious illness, in Rajouri on Tuesday. (ANI)

Jitendra Singh confirmed that the initial tests ruled out any infection caused due to viruses or any bacteria as potential causes of the illness. Instead, the findings suggested the presence of a toxin, which is now undergoing further analysis, news agency ANI reported.

"I think the discussion has started but the first test was conducted by a toxicology laboratory in Lucknow, CSIR. The discussion was that there was no infection, no virus, no bacteria, it was just a toxin. Now the toxin is being tested. So there is a long series of toxins that are being tested...and if there is any mischief or any other mischief, then we will know about it," he said.

Also Read | J&K govt declares Badhaal village containment zone amid unexplained deaths

The minister was speaking during the inauguration of the newly constructed bridge at Basantpur, Singh updated the public on the results of initial tests conducted by a toxicology laboratory in Lucknow under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Mysterious illness killed 17 people in J&K's Rajouri

The unidentified illness often termed a 'mysterious illness' by authorities and locals, has so far claimed 17 lives and affected 38 people since early December 2024.

The deaths have prompted concern in the administration but health department teams have stated there is no immediate need to declare a public health emergency.

Also Read | Jammu: Rajouri village deaths not due to any communicable disease, says govt

On Tuesday, JK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Rajouri's Badhal and assured citizens affected by the disease.

CM Abdullah told reporters, "The day when we got the information, the health department along with other departments have been working to understand the causes behind such incidents... Tests were done, and we concluded that there were no bacteria or viruses that caused those deaths."

"Later, we found that all those deaths happened in three families," he added. He said that the authorities are yet to ascertain the cause behind these deaths.

Amit Shah forms SIT to investigate Rajouri deaths

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday ordered the constitution of an inter-ministerial team led by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to investigate the causes of unexplained deaths in three incidents reported over the past six weeks.

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