J&K village declared containment zone after 17 die of mysterious illness

A village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri has been declared a containment zone after 17 people from three families died of a “mysterious” disease.

As many as 17 people from Baddal have been killed by the unknown illness as authorities scramble to put a pin on the actual cause of their deaths.

The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the village of Baddal. Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers.

Local authorities have installed CCTV cameras to monitor the movements of people and ensure that residents are complying with government instructions. Police personnel have been deployed all around the village so no one leaves the containment zone.

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What are the rules in the containment zone?

As per the order, houses belonging to people whose family members have died will be sealed and entry into the premises will be completely restricted. Meanwhile, family members of the victims who have been identified as being in close contact with the deceased will be shifted to Government Medical College, Rajouri for continuous health monitoring which is mandatory.

All households will be covered under the containment zone-3 and staff will be deployed to ensure the continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.

“All public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these containment zones, in order to prevent further spread of the infection,” the order said.

The family members of the affected individuals and their close contacts can only consume food and water provided by the administration and any food item available at their homes will be off-limits.

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A few days ago, health officials pinned the blame on water from a reservoir that had traces of pesticides which they thought could be linked to the deaths. However, three minors complaining of fever and vomiting were recently admitted to the hospital.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh ruled out the existence of viruses or bacteria, saying that preliminary reports from a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) toxicology laboratory in Lucknow indicated that the bodies of the deceased contained toxins.

He said, “Now the toxin is being tested,” adding that the “mystery” behind the deaths will be solved soon.

Meanwhile, several food and water samples from the location have been sent for testing.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the Baddal village earlier this week to allay the fears of residents and reassure them that the government is doing everything to find the cause of the deaths.

With inputs from agencies