ICMR rules out infection behind Rajouri deaths, probe shifts to toxins

India’s top public health institutions continue to grapple with the mystery deaths in Rajouri, which remain a diagnostic black hole, as reports on samples from the latest victims are still pending.

Top sources in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday told The Tribune that ICMR labs were now out of the ambit of investigations into 17 deaths in Badhaal village of Rajouri.

“The ICMR has tested samples for the entire range of infectious agents from bacteria to viruses and fungi plus the remainder of the gamut of infections agents. It is nothing communicable. The deaths were most likely caused by a toxin,” an ICMR source said.

The onus of solving the Rajouri puzzle is now on leading toxicology labs of the country, mainly on the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) Lucknow, a CSIR institute and the Defence Research Development Organisation’s Gwalior lab.

As The Tribune had earlier reported, experts who collected samples from Badhaal had recommended testing of samples for over 100 toxins. The samples were collected after eight members of a single family died within a week, between January 12 and January 19.

However, there may be a significant challenge—Indian toxicology labs do not have the capacity to test for the full range of possible toxins.

“Any range of toxins could have driven the tragic deaths — food toxins, pesticides, insecticides, drugs, heavy metals, volatile substances. Anything could have caused these deaths. Although some reports are attributing the deaths to pesticides in water samples consumed from baolis by affected families, the fact is that the first set of investigations conducted after the initial two families were affected had ruled out pesticides as the cause. Pesticides and insecticides were detected in water samples but both were within permissible limits. The final set of samples will once again be tested for pesticides and insecticides,” said a source.

A senior expert noted that if the second phase of testing—currently underway—also yields negative results, authorities may seek assistance from international laboratories to determine the cause. “But first we will await the results of our tests,” a senior medical health specialist said.

Between December 7, 2024, and January 19, seventeen people from three families in Badhaal village lost their lives due to an unknown cause.

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Tuesday urged patience, stating that multiple agencies are working on the investigation and that test results should be awaited.