Rajouri: Another woman has died of the unknown illness in the Budhal village of Rajouri district. The 60-year-old woman died at GMC Rajouri, taking the death count to 16, including 12 children in the past over 45 days, officials said on Friday
An official said that the woman namely Jatti Begum wife of Mohammad Yousuf was taken to GMC Rajouri on Thursday, where she died during treatment today morning.
He said that her husband had died due to same unknown illness on Monday. Yousuf and his wife are relatives of Mohammad Aslam, who lost 5 children due to this mysterious illness.
While J&K’s health minister Sakina Itoo has ruled out that the deaths have been caused by any kind of virus or infection, police have formed 11-member Special Investigation Team to probe these deaths.
Earlier on Wednesday, JK’s Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo said that extensive tests conducted within and outside Jammu and Kashmir have returned negative for any disease, infection, or virus,
Sakina said that despite the negative test results, these deaths remain a major concern and efforts are on to investigate the matter at the earliest.
She said authorities are now focusing on a thorough investigation to determine the cause as the angle of virus and infection along with other diseases have been ruled out by experts.
The minister said the health department screened 3,500 villagers door-to-door after five initial deaths. “Samples were analysed at top institutions, including ICMR Pune, NCDC Delhi, DRDE Gwalior and PGI-Chandigarh. Water and food samples were also tested, yielding no evidence of contamination,” she said.
Sakina had also said that the deaths have been confined to three related families living in close proximity. “If the cause had been a communicable disease, it would have spread widely,” she said.
“I am in touch with health authorities along with district administration who have been asked to expedite the investigation process so that necessary steps can be taken at the earliest”, she said, adding, “The deaths are a tragic mystery, but we are committed to uncovering the truth.”
Meanwhile, JK Police have constituted an 11-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the deaths. The team will be headed by Superintendent of Police (Operations), Budhal, Wajahat Hussain.
The members of the SIT include Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Kandi, station house officers (SHOs) of police station Kandi and women’s police station Rajouri, officials and experts from forensic medicine and toxicology, microbiology, paediatrics and pathology departments.
According to the order, the team will utilise the expertise of professionals from the food safety, agriculture, and Jal Shakti departments, as well as the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Jammu. “The team will make all sincere efforts to work out the inquest proceedings to its logical conclusion at the earliest,” it said. (KNO)
