2 weeks ago
Tribal students flee Maharashtra hostel over 'possessed' girls
Some girls at a school in India started acting strangely, crying and laughing without control.
Other students got scared and thought the girls were possessed by spirits.
Because of this fear, about 600 students left the school hostel.
The school is in a remote area called Melghat in Maharashtra.
Officials and doctors visited the school to check on the students.
They said the strange behavior was probably caused by stress, not by spirits.
Some people in the village believed spirits lived in a tree near the school, but the tree was cut down.
Others thought a temple was disturbed or a ghost was nearby.
A group that fights superstition talked to the students and told them to think scientifically.
The headmaster is trying to help the girls and bring students back to school.
Nearly 600 tribal students left a government-run hostel in Maharashtra's Amravati district after rumors that some girls were possessed.
The episode began on July 22 when four girls started crying and laughing uncontrollably, which officials suspect may be linked to mental stress.
The residential school at Doma village in the Melghat region houses 810 boys and girls and is run by the Tribal Development Department.
A senior tribal department official said the symptoms have nothing to do with anything supernatural and could be a selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress.
Local beliefs cited in a psychological report include a 'mahua' tree cut down by the school, a deity temple affected by a drainage channel, and a ghost of an Adivasi youth who died nearby.
- Who
- Tribal students at a government-run residential school in Doma village, Amravati district, Maharashtra; officials from the Tribal Development Department; Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti; Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade; Headmaster Sanjay Chaudhary.
- What
- Nearly 600 tribal students left the hostel after rumors that some girls were possessed, following unusual behavior by four girls.
- Where
- Doma village, Chikhaldara taluka, Melghat region, northern Maharashtra, over 700 km from Mumbai.
- When
- The episode began on July 22; officials commented on Sunday.
- Why
- Rumors of possession spread after four girls behaved strangely; officials suspect mental stress and a selective hysteria-like condition, while locals cited beliefs about spirits.
Scientific / Official View
Local Belief / Superstition View
Cause of the strange behavior
Scientific / Official View
Officials and health experts say the symptoms are not supernatural and could be a selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress.
Local Belief / Superstition View
Students and locals believe the girls were possessed by spirits, citing a cut-down 'mahua' tree, a disturbed deity temple, and a ghost of an Adivasi youth.
How to respond
Scientific / Official View
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti appealed to people to view the incident scientifically rather than fall for blind beliefs; MP Balwant Wankhade urged students not to be afraid and to attend classes.
Local Belief / Superstition View
Fear of spirits led about 600 students to leave the hostel, and some village women reportedly developed similar mental symptoms.
Key facts
- Location
- Doma village, Chikhaldara taluka, Melghat region, Amravati district, Maharashtra
- Students who left
- About 600
- Total students in hostel
- 810 boys and girls
- Date episode began
- July 22
- Administering body
- Tribal Development Department
- Distance from Mumbai
- Over 700 km
- Official explanation
- Selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress
Quotes
Senior official from the tribal department
An authority in the tribal development department who commented on the incident
“"The symptoms have nothing to do with anything supernatural. It could be a selective hysteria‑like condition related to mental stress."”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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