Malkangiri, June 4: A day after officials started investigating the alleged mysterious deaths of 15 adult Koya tribals in a village of Odisha’s Malkangiri, chief district medical officer said that people are not cooperating in the probe. Arun Kumar Padhi said the exact cause of deaths could not be known unless tests were conducted. He added that he and his team are working and the reports about the death of 15 tribal would come soon.

Padhi said, “Unless they're tested, one cannot tell that the cause of death is unknown. When people are not cooperating, it's difficult to work. We're working on field and report will come soon.” A total of 15 people of Koya tribals of Kenduguda village died in the last three months. There were allegations that they died due to lack of proper healthcare facilities. All those who died were between age group of 25-65 years. Odisha: Facing Extreme Poverty, Tribal Woman in Malkangiri Commits Suicide, Poisons 2 Sons.

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According to a report published in Hindustan Times, 15 people of the village having a population of about 400, under Malkangiri block of the same district have died with many of them complaining of swollen legs and a swollen stomach. The village is not easily accessible as the 20-km stretch of road connecting to the mainland is not in bad condition.

“Though a village sub-centre was located some 4-5 km away at Padmagiri and primary health centre at Pandripani, villagers did not go there for treatment of their ailments,” reported the media house quoting Dasharath Padiami, a member of Malkangiri zilla parishad. The first death due to the "mysterious disease" was reported on February 24. All the people who died had the same symptoms.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2020 12:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).