JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a meeting of all the concerned from Divisional and District administrations along with Health experts from several national health institutions to take stock of the measures taken so far to identify the real causes behind the mysterious deaths reported from village Badhal in district Rajouri.

The meeting, besides Secretary Health & Medical Education Department was attended by ADGP, Jammu; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range; DC, Rajouri; SP, Rajouri; Principal, GMC, Jammu; Principal, GMC, Rajouri;Director, Health Services, Jammu and Experts from PGIMER, CSIR, National Institute of Virology (NIV), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), DRDO and others.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the Health and Police Departments to assess the reports received from different institutes of repute to identify the real cause of these deaths. He asked them to work in close coordination to take this investigation to its logical conclusion.

He also directed the Police Department to utilize the best of their resources to study these reports along with using other scientific measures to reach to the conclusion. He also urged the Health Department to study these reports to find the reasonable leads causing these deaths.

He made out that the reports furnished by different institutions are now available with us and more are going to be received soon. He maintained that these should be enough to conclude the investigations and reach to possible reasons of these deaths reported from this particular village.

Dulloo also took this occasion to hear from the different experts from PGIMER (Chandigarh), NIV, CSIR and NCDC about their findings after studying numerous samples taken from the affected persons or area. He also sought suggestions from them about the future course of action to be taken from here.

It was given out by these experts that after carrying out of extensive microbiological studies no viral, bacterial or microbial infection was found to cause these deaths. These were found to be localised and possibly having some epidemiological linkage.

It was also given out that certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased persons which is further investigated to know more about it. It is pertinent to mention here that from 7th of December, 2024 about 12 deaths out of 38 affected persons were reported in three different incidents from the village Badhal of District Rajouri the causes of which were unknown.

The government has taken several measures including rushing of Rapid Response Teams, carrying out investigations of samples from humans and animals, testing of water etc besides taking assistance of reputed health institutions of the country to know about the actual causes behind these deaths.

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In loving memory of Dr. Priya Ranjan: A mentor who treated me like family
A Profound Loss: JK Monitor Mourns the Passing of Founding Chairman Dr. Priya Ranjan

We at JK Monitor are profoundly saddened by the sudden demise of our Founding Chairman, Dr. Priya Ranjan.IN LOVING MEMORY Dr Priya Ranjan

A brilliant mind who studied at Netarhat Residential School and graduated in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur before earning his PhD from the University of Maryland, Dr. Ranjan chose to return to India and dedicate his life to teaching, research and social good.

His pioneering work in networked systems, AI, robotics and biomedical applications—especially computer-vision tools for early detection of cancer and heart disease—reflected his deep belief that advanced technology must serve humanity.

For more than 15 years at JK Monitor, he remained a loyal friend, mentor and collaborator, marked by rare humility, intellectual integrity and quiet generosity. His passing leaves a void that cannot be filled. Priya, you will be deeply missed. Your life continues to remind us that knowledge finds its highest purpose in the service of others.

— Team JK Monitor

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