The Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, which has been witnessing 'mysterious deaths' was on Wednesday declared a containment zone.


Prohibitory orders have been imposed on all public and private gatherings after 17 deaths from three families were recorded from the area, officials have told news agency PTI.

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

The village has been divided into three containment zones.

The first containment zone will cover all families where deaths have occurred. "The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by the designated officers/officials."

In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals 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, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.

"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.

From December 7 to January 19, a total of 17 people have died in this village. While nothing has been confirmed so far, few doctors have said the deaths might be occurring due to neurotoxins. 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.

(Inputs from PTI)