Authorities in Maharashtra&rsquo;s Amravati district are grappling with an unusual situation after nearly 600 tribal students left a government-run hostel at a residential school, claiming that some girls there were possessed.
The episode began on July 22, when four girls reportedly started behaving strangely, crying and laughing uncontrollably.
Officials suspect the behaviour could be linked to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/experts-warn-student-detentions-may-leave-lasting-mental-health-impact-23641122" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">mental stress</a>, reported PTI.&nbsp;
The tribal residential school in Doma village of Chikhaldara taluka, located in the tribal-dominated Melghat region of northern Maharashtra, houses 810 boys and girls, officials said on Sunday.
Rumours soon spread that the girls were possessed, prompting around 600 students to leave the &lsquo;haunted&rsquo; hostel, run by the Tribal Development Department, over a period of several days.
According to a hostel source, some of the girls claimed to have heard the sound of anklets clanking.
<h2>Health experts rule out supernatural cause</h2>
A senior Tribal Development Department official said a team of <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-monsoon-psychiatrist-explains-how-relentless-rain-affects-mental-health-23638555" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">health experts</a> visited the Doma residential school to assess the situation.
&ldquo;The symptoms have nothing to do with anything supernatural. It could be a selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress,&rdquo; the official said.
Several theories began circulating after some of the girls displayed unusual behaviour, according to a psychological report prepared by the authorities. The report also noted that some women from the village subsequently developed similar symptoms.
<h2>Local beliefs fuel rumours</h2>
According to the report, some students and locals believe that a &lsquo;mahua&rsquo; tree once stood at the site of the ashram school and that spirits resided on it. The school management later cut down the tree, leading to a belief that the spirits became angry and began troubling the students.
Another theory was that a temple dedicated to a local deity behind the school had been affected or encroached upon by the school&rsquo;s drainage channel, which was believed to have angered the deity.
A third theory suggested that the spirit of an <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-greens-see-red-over-illegal-debris-dumping-in-aarey-milk-colony-23600980" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Adivasi youth</a> who died in a field near the school had become a ghost and was troubling the students.
The psychological report attributed the unusual situation to a combination of superstition, fear, stress and local beliefs about spirits.
<h2>Students counselled to return to school</h2>
Senior office-bearers from the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, which works towards eradicating superstition, also visited the school and counselled the students, the official said.
They appealed to the students and locals to view the incident from a scientific perspective rather than falling for <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/mid-day-editorial-no-fool-like-a-superstitious-fool-19691191" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">superstitious beliefs</a>.
Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade also urged the students not to be afraid and encouraged them to return to classes.
Headmaster Sanjay Chaudhary said efforts were underway to counsel the girls and bring the students back to school.
&ldquo;A few have returned,&rdquo; he said.
(With PTI inputs)

Authorities in Maharashtra’s Amravati district are grappling with an unusual situation after nearly 600 tribal students left a government-run hostel

Maharashtra: 600 tribal students leave hostel after girls show unusual behaviour

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The episode began on July 22, when four girls reportedly started behaving strangely, crying and laughing uncontrollably. Officials suspect the behaviour could be linked to mental stress

Maharashtra hostel scare: 600 students leave after four girls display unusual behaviour

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