Raising a ‘red flag,’ the District Magistrate Rajouri has declared Badhaal village, which has so far witnessed 17 deaths due to ‘mysterious illness’ since December 7, 2024, a ‘containment zone’ under section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) with immediate effect. Section 163 of the BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations.
According to the order issued by the office of the District Magistrate, Rajouri on January 21, 2025, “In view of the recent health situation in the Badhaal area and to curb the spread of infection the following orders are issued under section 163 of BNSS”.
Meanwhile, four villagers including three sisters have been admitted to the hospital in the last 24 hours.
On Tuesday, Aijaz Ahmad a 25-year-old youth had some symptoms of the mysterious disease, he was later taken to GMC Jammu from where he was shifted to PGI Chandigarh under special arrangements. Three sisters were rushed to the GMC, Rajouri on Wednesday morning. The doctors are monitoring their health condition; if required, the trio will be shifted to GMC,Jammu .
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 would 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.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday and assured the villagers that the actual reason for the deaths would soon be found. He also condoled the deaths of the villagers.
The health department has scanned 3,500 locals, including residents of Budhaal and adjacent villages. Those results also did not confirm any viral or bacterial infection. An inter-ministerial team constituted under the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah is presently in the village to point out the exact cause of the mysterious disease.