Jammu, January 20:
A high-level inter-ministerial team on Monday visited Baddal village in Rajouri district to probe the mysterious deaths of 17 members of three families. Officials said the central team, led by a director-rank officer of the Home Ministry, reached Rajouri district on Sunday evening. There they took briefings from the district administration, health and police officials.
Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered the formation of this inter-ministerial team to probe the causes behind the mysterious deaths. The village is located around 55 km from Rajouri town.
The central team, comprising senior officials from various departments, reached Baddal at around 11.30 am on Monday and met the bereaved families.
According to officials, when the team reached the village, preparations were underway for the funeral of Yasmin Kausar (15), the sixth child of Mohammad Aslam. Yasmin died on Sunday evening at SMGS Hospital in Jammu. The central team began its investigation as soon as it reached the village and divided the investigation into two groups.
Experts from some of the country’s leading institutions have also been included in the team to understand the situation.
A spokesperson had earlier said that preliminary investigations and sampling indicated that the cause of these deaths was not an infectious bacterial or viral disease.
