Mysterious Deaths in Badhaal Village Leave 19 Dead, Experts Rule Out Disease Causes

Anandpur, Rajouri - A day after experts confirmed that certain neurotoxins were found in samples collected from those who died in the besieged village of Badhaal in Rajouri over the past month, Health Minister Sakina Masood Itoo on Wednesday ruled out any disease causes behind the high mortality rate.

Addressing mediapersons at her office here, the Minister said, "The deaths were not caused by any disease, including viral diseases." She attributed the tragedy to a series of unfortunate incidents that led to the demise of 19 people in a span of just one month.

Among the victims were two minors and three adults, with one being pregnant at the time of her death. According to officials, the health department initially collected around 3,500 samples from the area but all tests came out negative at that point.

However, following an upsurge in unexplained deaths, experts from across top health institutions were fetched in to unravel the truth behind the phenomenon. "The most shocking thing is that these deaths occurred only within three interconnected families alone," Sakina Masood Itoo lamented.

At the national health institution meeting for Tuesday with prominent expert personalities, officials expressed regret about multiple negative diagnostic results and stressed the fact that even a few critical tests by specialized institutions had no findings indicating any specific infection responsible for such bizarre incidents.