SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has indicated that toxic exposure, and not any viral or bacterial outbreak, was responsible for the deaths of 17 persons in Budhal area of Rajouri district, with investigations pointing to the presence of pesticide-related compounds in affected samples.
Replying to a starred Assembly question tabled by MLA Javid Iqbal, the Health and Medical Education Department said a series of unexplained illness clusters were reported from Badhal village in Kandi block of Rajouri between December 7, 2024 and January 24, 2025. The incidents involved 55 affected persons across four clusters, largely from closely related families, with 17 fatalities reported during the period.
The government said patients exhibited symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, drowsiness, breathlessness and altered sensorium. All affected individuals were shifted to health facilities including CHC Kandi, Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri and SMGS Hospital Jammu for specialised treatment. While the index patient recovered and was discharged on January 2, 2025, subsequent clusters continued to emerge among individuals linked to the affected households.
It said that immediately after the incidents, extensive containment and investigation measures were launched in coordination with the district administration. Medical camps were set up in the area, and door-to-door surveillance covering 3,577 residents was conducted, alongside screening and contact tracing by rapid response teams. Samples of food, water, drugs and biological material were collected for laboratory testing, while isolation wards were established at GMC Rajouri, GMC Jammu and SMGS Hospital Jammu. Ambulance services and round-the-clock medical teams were also deployed.
The matter was reviewed at the highest level, with involvement of expert teams from premier institutions including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the National Centre for Disease Control and the Indian Council of Medical Research.
According to provisional findings of toxicological analysis conducted by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research and PGIMER Chandigarh, the incidents do not appear to be linked to any infectious disease. Instead, the presence of toxic substances, including pesticide compounds such as Aldicarb Sulfone, Acetamiprid and Butoxycarboxim, along with elevated levels of Cadmium in some samples, points to possible neurotoxic exposure as the cause of illness and deaths.
The government said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and an inter-ministerial investigation team constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs are currently examining the matter in detail to ascertain the exact cause and circumstances surrounding the deaths.
