Jammu, January 15: Authorities have established a specialized investigation team to look into the unexplained deaths of 14 individuals, including 11 children, from three families in a secluded village within the Rajouri district, as reported by officials on Wednesday.
With increasing alarm surrounding these unexplained fatalities in Badhaal village over the past month, the administration has instructed officials to review reports from relevant agencies to ascertain the underlying causes.
Preliminary findings suggest the detection of certain neurotoxins in the samples taken from the deceased, which are currently under further examination to uncover the factors leading to these tragedies.
An 11-member special investigation team (SIT) has been convened under the leadership of Superintendent of Police (Operations) Budhal, Wajahat Hussain, in light of the sensitive nature of the inquiry initiated into the deaths, as stated in an order by Senior Superintendent of Police Rajouri, Gaurav Sikarwar.
As detailed in four daily diary reports (DDRs) recorded at the Kandi police station on December 7, 12, 23, and January 12, a total of 14 individuals — a man with his four children, a woman with her three children, and a man with his four grandchildren — have died under dubious circumstances.
The SIT comprises Deputy Superintendent of Police Kandi Vikram Sarmhal, Kandi SHO Abrar Khan, Rajouri women’s police station SHO Sushma Thakur, Inspector Rajeev Kumar, Sub-Inspector Pankaj Sharma, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Pawan Sharma, as indicated in the order.
Additionally, the team includes specialists from the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, Microbiology Department, Paediatrics Department, and Pathology Department.
Per the directive, the SIT will also engage experts from food safety, agriculture, and Jal Shakti (Public Health Engineering) Departments, along with specialists from the FSL team in Jammu, for the investigation.
The team is obligated to report the progress of the investigation to the district police office weekly.
