Rajouri Mystery Deaths: Authorities Shut Pesticide Shops Amid Probe

JAMMU: As part of an ongoing investigation into the deaths of 17 people due to a mysterious illness in Badhaal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, authorities on Wednesday conducted surprise inspections of all insecticide, pesticide, and fertilizer stores in the district and initiated their closure.

Officials said eleven patients who were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital (GMC) after falling ill due to a mysterious illness in Badhaal village of Rajouri district have fully recovered and been discharged on Tuesday.

In a major late-evening action taken by authorities in the border district, surprise inspections of all insecticide, pesticide, and fertilizer stores have been initiated followed by the closure of all these stores until further orders.

This action was going on as per latest reports.

Joint teams from the department of agriculture, department of food and drugs control organisation, assisted by police and headed by an executive magistrate, conducted simultaneous surprise inspections at all these outlets located across the district.

The number of these outlets is believed to be around two hundred and fifty.

“Sampling of all kinds of insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers has been done, and samples are being seized at the site followed by the sealing of business establishments until sample reports are received,” an official said.

The officials further stated that this exercise has been undertaken by government authorities as part of the ongoing investigation and legal action following 17 mysterious deaths in Badhaal village over the past nine weeks, with the causes of these deaths still unclear.

They said the action is expected to continue into day two, Thursday.

A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, concluded a three-day visit to Rajouri. They examined patients from Badhaal village and collected various samples as part of their investigation into the recent deaths in the area.

During their visit, a five-member team of AIIMS Delhi experts, including specialists in toxicology, conducted interviews and recorded clinical histories from the 11 patients currently undergoing treatment for the mysterious illness responsible for 17 deaths in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said doctors at GMC Rajouri treated the 11 patients with Atropine, an anti-poison drug.

Badhaal village remains under containment, with 79 families still in isolation as a precautionary measure, they added.