Srinagar: The questions surrounding the deaths of 17 persons from three families in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir since December 7 last year still remains unanswered. According to investigations, traces of various toxins were found in the samples collected from the affected families.
An official said that traces of chlorfenapyr and sulfone, both of which have neurotoxic properties, were found in the samples that were obtained by official teams from the households of the affected families in Badhal village of Rajouri district.
Officials, however, have cautioned that the presence of these compounds doesn’t conclusively establish the cause of deaths of the Badhal victims. The Union government as well as the Union Territory administration have not yet made the toxicology reports public.
An official said that the presence of chlorfenapyr was confirmed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR) in the samples of maize flour that were collected from the affected families in Badhal.
The presence of sulfone was found in other samples which were also obtained from the affected households, sources said.
The country’s premier institutes including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), CSIR, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh had carried out additional testing of the tissue samples of the deceased as well as blood, stool, swab and urine samples of around 3500 locals.
What do the symptoms reveal?
The spate of deaths, occurred between December 7 last year and January 19, as dozens of locals started turning up at a local health centre with complaints of dizziness, loss of consciousness, fever and vomiting among others following which they were referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri and GMC Jammu.
The illness had triggered a wave of fear and anguish among the locals, prompting the Union home ministry to set up a high-level team of Central and J&K officials to probe the matter. A special investigation team of J&K police was also constituted by the Union Territory government to unravel the mystery behind the deaths.
A doctor at GMC Jammu, where some of the victims were treated, said that the symptoms displayed by the patients from Badhal were consistent with the complications associated with neurotoxic poisoning that results in multiple-organ failure. He, however, said that the primary cause of deaths hasn’t been ascertained so far.
Speaking to The Wire, a senior official in Jammu also affirmed that the exact cause of deaths has not been ascertained so far. “We have got reports from some labs which suggest the presence of multiple toxins. It is likely that some of these toxins incidentally made their way into the samples,” he said.
However, Dr A.S. Bhatia, principal of GMC Rajouri, where most of the deaths took place, had said earlier that neurotoxins were identified as the primary cause of deaths. “These toxins impair brain function which results in brain swelling that was consistent with the tests conducted on all the deceased patients,” he said. Similarly, officials had said that though the patients died due to exposure to neurotoxins, they have not been able to trace its source.
A senior police officer who is investigating the case told The Wire that chlorfenapyr was not readily available in the local markets of Rajouri. “It is possible that the toxin was procured from outside. We are investigating the case from all angles,” said the officer, who didn’t want to be named.
Also read: 17 Die in J&K’s Rajouri District, Neurotoxin Exposure Suspected
Police have registered five daily diary reports on December 7, 12, 23, January 12 and 19 in connection with the fatalities that devastated three families in Badhal. More than two dozen patients affected by the illness were discharged from different medical facilities, including one from PGIMER Chandigarh.
Some of the patients were administered atropine, an antidote for organophosphate poisoning, which had a positive impact on their condition while containment zones were formed in the village, which is located some 55 km from Rajouri district headquarters, to prevent further contamination.
Among the deceased are 12 children and a pregnant woman who fell ill after participating in a congregational meal at the residence of one of the victims days before the tragedy started to unfold.
“There is a possibility that the victims may have consumed some toxic substance at the function. We are investigating this angle also,” a source in the health department had told The Wire earlier.
A Union home ministry team comprising officials of the Union health and agriculture ministries is spearheading the investigation into the deaths.
Earlier, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had said that J&K health department’s investigation didn’t bring “correct facts to the fore” while asserting that the Central team would “ascertain the facts” in the case.
