Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, where the “mysterious deaths” took place, was declared a containment zone on Wednesday.
Prohibitory orders were imposed on all public and private gatherings after 17 deaths in three families were recorded in the area, officials told news agency PTI.
The restraining orders were imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of the BNSS empowers magistrates to issue written orders in emergency situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remove nuisances or hazards.
The village is divided into three maintenance zones.
The first containment zone will cover all families in which deaths have occurred. “The homes of these affected families are to be sealed off and entry will be completely restricted to all persons, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by designated officials/officials.”
In Containment Zone 2, the order said that all family members identified as close contacts of the affected persons should be shifted to Rajouri Government Medical College for continuous health monitoring, which is mandatory. All households will be covered by containment zone-3 and personnel will be deployed to ensure continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for log-keeping, the order said.
“For the affected families and their close contacts, it is mandatory to consume only food and water provided by the administration. Any other food products available in households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order reads.
A total of 17 people died in this village from December 7 to January 19. While nothing has been confirmed, only some doctors say that the death may be due to neurotoxins. The health department screened 3,500 local residents, including residents of Budhaal and nearby villages. These results also did not confirm any viral or bacterial infection.
(Inputs from PTI)
