JAMMU: The leaves of all doctors and paramedics at GMC Rajouri have been cancelled in view of a medical alert in the region following the deaths of 17 members of three families from the remote Badhaal village in Kotranka due to a mysterious illness. Eight of the deaths have occurred since Jan 12 alone.
On Saturday, nearly 200 close relatives of the victim families were shifted to an isolation centre, even as a few other villagers remained admitted in various hospitals amid efforts to identify the toxins (poisonous substances) responsible for the mass deaths.
Badhaal village, the epicentre of the mysterious illness and deaths, has been declared a containment zone, with prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings. “The winter vacations have also been cancelled to deal with the medical alert situation,” GMC Rajouri principal Dr Amarjeet Singh Bhatia said Friday, adding that J&K govt has deputed 10 additional medical students to GMC Rajouri to aid the medical setup amid the ongoing health situation.
“The central team and police have also launched separate probes into the deaths which remained confined mysteriously within three families. Four adults and 13 children belonging to the families of Mohammad Fazal, Mohammad Aslam and Mohammad Rafiq in Badhaal village died due to a mysterious illness over the past one-and-a-half months,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the 11-member SIT, constituted after certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased, is continuing its probe into the criminal angle and has questioned over 50 people in this connection so far.
