A second batch of 32 villagers, who were lodged in an isolation centre owing to mysterious deaths in their village, returned home in Badhal village of Rajouri on Saturday, officials said.
Seventeen members of three families, including 13 children, died under mysterious circumstances after falling sick in the remote Badhal village of Kotranka Sub-division between December 7 and January 19.
On Saturday, at least 350 members of 70 families were allowed to return home after spending 22 days in the separation centres at Government Nursing College Building and Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School in Rajouri town.
Among the 50 villagers put up in a separate isolation facility at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital in Rajouri, 32 people returned home on Saturday, the officials said.
They said 18 people are still under observation in this separation facility.
Though the exact cause of the death remained unknown so far despite authorities roping in experts from premier institutions in the country, some neurotoxin in the food chain is suspected as the main cause of the deaths.
While the people were provided all kinds of facilities at the separation facilities, dedicated teams of officials were also stationed in the village to take care of the livestock of the shifted families.