J&K unexplained deaths: Badhal village in Rajouri district declared as containment zone

People dig a grave for the burial of Yasmeen Kouser, the 17th victim of the ‘mysterious’ illness, in Badhal village of Rajouri district. File image.
| Photo Credit: PTI

In light of the recent mysterious deaths of 17 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, the Badhal village has been declared as a containment zone as of Wednesday (January 22, 2025). Seventeen persons, including 13 children, belonging to three related families have died under mysterious circumstances here between December 7 and January 19. The houses of affected families will be sealed now.

The entire area is divided into three zones. All public and private gatherings are prohibited, officials said in an order.

According to officials, another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers.

Details of the order

According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.

According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.

“The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by the designated officers/officials.” In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals be shifted to Government Medical College, Rajouri for continuous health monitoring which is mandatory.

All households will be covered under the containment zone-3 and staff will be deployed to ensure the continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.

“All public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these containment zones, in order to prevent further spread of the infection,” the order said.

It said the designated officials shall be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.

“It is mandatory for affected families and their close contacts to consume only the food and water provided by the administration. Any other food items available in the households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order said.

It ordered immediate replacement of all food and water supplies, and seizure of all edible materials in the infected households.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village and assured people that a probe is underway. “The Centre has also deputed a team which is collecting samples and doing their activities. I want to assure all that the joint efforts of civil administration, police and the government of India will find out the answers to all questions about what had happened,” the Chief Minister had said.

As part of precautionary measures, authorities had already barred residents of Badhal village from drawing water from a local spring and cautioned against community feasts. Doctors claim that neurotoxins were causing these deaths but failed to detect any source for it so far. In spite of extensive testing, no definitive cause has been established.

(With inputs from PTI)