MHA-Led Team Arrives, LG Says Cause Behind Fatalities Will Be Ascertained Soon
M S Nazki
Jammu, Jan 19(GNS): One more minor girl hailing from Badhaal village of Rajouri district died on Sunday, taking the death toll due to unexplained “neurotoxins” to 17.
Official sources told GNS that 15-year-old Yasmeen daughter of Mohammad Aslam died in SGMS hospital in Jammu this evening. She was the eighth family member to die in Aslam’s family and 17th in Budhaal area in title over 45 days. Yasmeen’s other five siblings have died earlier. While doctors say that deaths have occurred due to neurotoxins yet the same continues to shroud in mystery.
In a related development, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the reason behind the mysterious deaths will be ascertained very soon. Also MHA-led inter-ministerial team arrived in the Jammu region to ascertain the causes of these deaths in the past six weeks.
The team consists of experts from the ministries of health and family welfare, agriculture, chemicals and fertilisers and water resources. It is also assisted by experts from animal husbandry, food safety and forensic science labs, reports said.
Also, police have constituted an 11-member SIT headed by the Superintendent of Police (operations) Budhal, Wajahat Hussain, has been constituted keeping in view the sensitivity of the inquest proceeding initiated into the deaths.
On January 16, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the alarming situation.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, the Chief Minister directed the health and police departments to expedite their investigations, according to official communiqué. (GNS)
