Unexplained deaths: Rajouri village declared containment zone   

The remote Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was on Wednesday declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 17 people belonging to three families, officials said.

Another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition, they said.

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

According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.

“The houses of the affected families will be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorised by the designated officers/officials.”

In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of the affected individuals would 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, police personnel deployed to enforce compliance and designated officers put in place to maintain 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.

It said the designated officials will be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.

“It is mandatory for affected families and their close contacts to consume only the food and water provided by the administration. Any other food items available in the households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order said.

It ordered immediate replacement of all food and water supplies, and seizure of all edible materials in the infected households.

The fresh steps were taken after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday.

Seventeen people belonging to three families connected to one another have died under suspicious circumstances in the village between December 7 and January 19.

A 24-year-old man, Aijaz Ahmad, was hospitalised on Tuesday evening after his health deteriorated.