Police have initiated investigations into the spate of mysterious deaths of 14 people, including 11 children, in the Badhal village of the border district of Rajouri.

Health Minister Sakina Itoo Wednesday said the medical reports of tests conducted by various national level health institutions do not show any medical reason for these deaths.

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She said that she has asked the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police to investigate the matter. She has not ruled out foul play in these deaths.

Medical experts have so far not been able to trace the cause of death of these persons.

Fourteen of the 38 affected persons have died since 7 December. Mass burial of three children, Zahoor Ahmad (14), Mohammad Maroof (10) and Naveena (8), who died during treatment in the medical college here, was done on Tuesday in the village. Another child, Safina Kousar (6) also died yesterday in the SMGS Hospital here. Two more children are undergoing treatment here. All affected persons belong to three interlinked families.

Chief secretary Atal Dullo also held a high level meeting with the top brass of the police and health department on the alarming issue.

Experts from PGIMER Chandigarh, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Defence Research and Development (DRDO) and other organisations have so far been unable to detect the cause of these deaths.

Different causes of these deaths are circulating in the region. J&K chief secretary Atal Dulloo, who yesterday held a high level meeting on the issue, directed the Police to utilise the best of their resources to study these reports along with using other scientific measures to reach the conclusion.

He also asked the Health Department to study these reports to find the reasonable leads causing these deaths. Experts said that neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased persons which is further being investigated.

Dulloo discussed the issue with the officers concerned from divisional and district administrations along with health experts from several national health institutions to take stock of the measures taken so far to identify the real causes behind the mysterious deaths reported from village Badhal in district Rajouri.

The meeting, besides Secretary Health & Medical Education Department was attended by additional director general of police (ADGP) Jammu; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range; DC, Rajouri; SP, Rajouri; Principal, GMC, Jammu; Principal, GMC, Rajouri; Director, Health Services, Jammu and Experts from PGIMER, CSIR, National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), DRDO and others.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the Health and Police Departments to assess the reports received from different institutes of repute to identify the real cause of these deaths. He asked them to work in close coordination to take this investigation to its logical conclusion.

He made out that the reports furnished by different institutions are now available and more are going to be received soon. He maintained that these should be enough to conclude the investigations and reach possible reasons for these deaths reported from this particular village.

Dulloo also took this occasion to hear from different experts from PGIMER (Chandigarh), NIV, CSIR and NCDC about their findings after studying numerous samples taken from the affected persons of the area. He also sought suggestions from them about the future course of action.

These experts, after carrying out extensive microbiological studies, said no viral, bacterial or microbial infection was found to be the cause of these deaths. These findings were found to be localised and possibly having some epidemiological linkage.

Meanwhile, the authorities have taken several measures including rushing of Rapid Response Teams, carrying out investigations of samples from humans and animals, testing of water besides taking assistance of reputed health institutions of the country to know about the actual causes behind these deaths.

Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma is personally monitoring the situation to ensure timely intervention and mitigation. Aggressive contact tracing and sampling by the Health Department teams was carried out. More than 272 samples were taken to identify and address potential health risks.It is pertinent to mention that food and water samples have already been collected to ascertain the quality and safety of essential supplies in the region. A dedicated team of the Health Department, led by Dr Rakesh Mangotra , Director Health Jammu, and accompanied by Rajouri Chief Medical Officer Dr Manohar Rana is camping at Kandi Kotranka to oversee the operations.

The administration has also stationed a mobile medical unit and ambulance on standby to address any emergent medical needs.

Rajouri’s BJP leader Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali has expressed concern over the incident and sought an inquiry into these deaths.

He wrote on X; “The death toll in Badhal village in Koteranka, has risen to 14 following the death of 5 more persons including children. While the cause remains uncertain—whether due to suspected food poisoning or an unidentified illness or due to some criminal act—these deaths are deeply tragic and a matter of grave concern for all, there is fear and panic among the people. This alarming incident calls for urgent attention and prompt intervention by authorities”.