Panic due to mysterious disease in Jammu and Kashmir, 16 people died, CM called a high level meeting…

Jammu :- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a high level meeting on Friday on the issue of mysterious death of 16 people in Budhal of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. Let us tell you that many people lost their lives due to suspicious disease in Budhal village of the district.

On December 7, 2024, a family of seven fell ill after eating community food in Budhal Rajouri. After that five of them died. On December 12, 2024, a family of 9 people was affected, in which three people lost their lives. The third incident occurred on January 12, 2025, involving a family of ten who fell ill after eating another communal meal, with six children hospitalized.

The meeting was attended by Health and Medical Education Minister Sakeen Itoo, Advisor to Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Atal Dullu, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, ADGP Jammu Anand Jain, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar, Health and Medical Education Secretary Dr Syed Abid. Rashid Shah and other senior medical and police officers attended. During the meeting, the Health and Medical Education Secretary informed the Chief Minister about the steps taken so far.

He informed that Health Department teams conducted door-to-door survey of more than 3 thousand residents in the affected area. Health and Medical Education Secretary said that all the test results of influenza and other possible diseases have come negative. The Chief Minister was informed that additional tests were conducted by key national institutions including ICMR, National Institute of Virology, National Center for Disease Control, CSIR, DRDO and PGIMER Chandigarh, but no definite cause of deaths was found.

Police officials told the meeting that investigation is underway to find out the root cause of the deaths. Giving information about the seriousness of the situation, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed the health and police departments to speed up their investigation. The unexplained nature of these deaths is extremely worrying, and the government is committed to ensuring that the root cause is identified as soon as possible, officials said at the meeting. In the meeting, cooperation was expected from all departments to deal with this problem.

During the meeting, it was also emphasized that the health department has maintained an active presence in the area in the last 40 days. Ambulance, medicines and necessary facilities have been provided to deal with any emergency. Expressing his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, the Chief Minister assured the public that the administration is treating the situation with top priority.

In response to these incidents, the government claimed to have taken a number of measures to find the root cause of what appeared to be an 'unusual disease'. The spokesperson said that the government is committed to the safety of people's lives and is taking all necessary steps in this matter. Officials said several experts visited the area, collected samples, conducted tests and set up medical camps to control the situation. Following this, Jammu and Kashmir Police has also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the deaths. The SIT includes experts from the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Microbiology and Department of Pediatrics.

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