The first incident came to notice on December 7, 2024, when a family of seven fell ill.
Fifteen people, mostly children, have died in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district during last 40 days due to a mysterious illness. Meanwhile, one child is hospitalised in a critical condition.
Officials say victims are from three families which are related to each other. Initially, they showed symptoms like vomiting and loss of consciousness.
After health experts ruled out spread of any disease, officials said a special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the deaths.
In the last 24 hours, ten-year-old Zabeena Kouser, the child of one Mohammad Aslam, died at SMGS Hospital in Jammu, while her 15-year-old sister Yasmeen Kouser is critical, officials said.
The first incident came to notice on December 7, 2024, when a family of seven fell ill after a community meal, resulting in five fatalities. On December 12, 2024, a family of nine was affected, with three deaths. The third incident occurred on January 12, 2025, involving a family of ten who fell ill after another community meal, with six children hospitalised.
Following the first incident on December 7, the government deployed a medical team along with the Food Safety Department to collect food and water samples. Medical camps, mobile medical units, door-to-door screenings, and rapid action teams were organised.
Officials say samples from a large number of people were taken and sent to top health institutions in the country for examination. However, medical reports ruled out any disease.
Officials say expert teams from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, the National Institute of Virology (NIV)-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have gathered samples over last one month and no report has found spread of any disease that could have caused these deaths.
A 11-member SIT, headed by Superintendent of Police (Operations) Budhal, Wajahat Hussain, has been formed by the Rajouri police to investigate the deaths. The team was constituted considering the sensitivity of the inquest, stated by an order by Senior Superintendent of Police (Rajouri), Gaurav Sikarwar.
