The Jammu and Kashmir government has issued an order to establish containment zones in Rajouri's Budhal Village where 17 people have died in mysterious circumstances. The district magistrate of Rajouri ordered a containment strategy and Surveillance Measures for Affected Families and Close Contacts and imposed Section 163 of BNSS in view of the recent health situation in the Badhal area and to curb the further spread of infection.
The order says that all families where deaths have occurred shall be declared as Containment Zone 1. The houses of these affected families shall be sealed, and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members unless otherwise authorised by the designated officers/officials.
Zone-wise containment
In Zone 2 of the order copy, all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals shall be declared as Containment Zone 2. Immediate shifting of individuals from these families to GMC Rajouri for continuous health monitoring is mandatory.
In Zone 3, Prohibition of Gatherings, 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 designated officials (already identified by the administration) shall be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.
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Omar Abdullah visits Budhal
The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah yesterday visited Budhal village to meet the families of the 17 individuals who tragically lost their lives in what the government has been calling mysterious deaths. Abdullah expressed profound grief and assured the bereaved families of full support and assistance from his government.
Omar Abdullah stressed that the government’s priority is to ensure the prevention of such incidents in future and an immediate end to the spate of unfortunate deaths. He assured the public that a detailed investigation was underway to determine the cause of the tragedy.
“The civil administration and health department are actively addressing the matter, while the police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the incident. Additionally, a central team has been deputed and is working diligently to uncover the reasons behind this unfortunate loss of life,” Omar Abdullah said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government consulted with many experts to understand what led to the deaths. Following extensive microbiological studies, they noted that no viral, bacterial or microbial infection had caused the deaths. These were found to be localised and possibly have some epidemiological linkage.
Certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased persons which will be further investigated.
It is pertinent to mention here that from December 7, 2024, about 17 of 38 affected persons have died in Budhal.
The tests were conducted on different samples in some of the most reputed labs in the country. These include the National Institute of Virology Pune, the National Centre for Disease Control New Delhi, the National Institute of Toxicology and Research Lucknow, Defence Research Development Establishment Gwalior, the Microbiology Department of PGIMER Chandigarh and the ICMR-Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, GMC Jammu.