Rajouri deaths: 15 of last quarantined Badhaal residents sent back home

The last of 15 people from the families who had lost their members to an unexplained illness were allowed to return to their homes after a long quarantine at GMC-Rajouri.

While returning home can be a joyous feeling for anyone, it was not the case with Mohammad Aslam, who is returning to his abode in Badhaal village of Rajouri after a quarantine of nearly a month. Tears rolled down the face of Aslam as mediapersons asked him how it was to return home after a long time.

Aslam lost six of his children — four daughters and two sons — to the illness that claimed 17 lives in the village. The reasons for the deaths are still being investigated by experts after the first deaths were reported on December 7.

“How can a man feel in a house where six children used to play in front of the eyes of their parents and now all of them are dead?” Aslam questioned and said it was the will of god that he had to see such a time.

The administration and top institutions of the country were left baffled after they were not able to find the reason behind the 17 deaths during a period of over one month. The only breakthrough was detection of neurotoxins in some of the samples. However, their role in the deaths is not completely known till now.

The administration in a rush had quarantined over 363 individuals from the village, including close contacts of the 17 people, who had died. These people were isolated to keep a close watch on their food and other habits.

Besides Aslam, another woman, Shamim Akhter, who lost her husband and four children, also returned to her home. Shamim was not able to speak even a word and her eyes went wet.

National institutions, including AIIMS-Delhi, PGIMER-Chandigarh, ICMR and Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) are part of the investigation into 17 deaths.

GMC Rajouri principal AS Bhatia said continuous medical camps and counselling for the residents of Badhaal would continue in coming days. He said the doctors would keep monitoring the situation at the village.