Jammu, 19 January
A high-level inter-ministerial team today reached Rajouri district to investigate the cause of death due to a mysterious disease in a village in Jammu and Kashmir. Another person died today due to this disease. In this way, the total number of dead has increased to 17.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday ordered the formation of an inter-ministerial team to find out the reasons behind the deaths of three families in the district’s Badhal village within a few weeks. Yasmeen Kausar, the last of the six children of Mohammad Aslam, died this evening while undergoing treatment at the SMGC Hospital in Jammu, officials said. Kausar’s five siblings and grandparents died last week. Nine other members of two families died between December 7 and 12 in the village. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha said that the Jammu and Kashmir Health Department and other departments are investigating the deaths but the real reasons could not be ascertained. -News-Patiala