It was stress, said officials after nearly 600 tribal students left a government-run hostel at a residential school in Maharashtra’s Amravati district amid claims a few girls there were “possessed”.
The tribal residential school at Doma village of Chikhaldara taluka in the tribal-dominated Melghat region in northern Maharashtra houses 810 boys and girls, said officials.
The mental health team from the Amravati District General Hospital visited the school and conducted an examination after a few girl students on July 22 started crying and laughing uncontrollably, taking everyone by surprise.
In this investigation, symptoms such as persistent crying, fear, sadness, memory loss, and physical pain were observed in six female students.
Rumour soon spread that the girls were possessed, prompting about 600 students to leave the “haunted” hostel, run by the Tribal Development Department.
Medical examinations have revealed that these female students are suffering from a mental condition known as ‘Dissociative Conversion Disorder’, a condition where psychological stress or brain signal disruptions cause real, involuntary physical or neurological symptoms – such as paralysis, tremors, or nonepileptic seizures – even though medical tests show normal physical structures.
Academic pressure, mental stress, and the impact of surrounding events could be the primary causes, detailed the medical report.
“The symptoms have nothing to do with anything supernatural. It could be a selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress,” an official said.
The students are being treated in isolation, and their parents have undergone counseling.
Following this incident, Additional Commissioner (Tribal Development) Sandeep Golait has appealed to everyone not to pay heed to rumours.
Senior office-bearers from Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANIS), which works towards eradication of blind faith, also met the students and counselled them, said the official.
He stated that efforts would be made to bring all the students back to school within the next eight days, with the cooperation of the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, the school administration, and the principal.
Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade also urged the students not to be afraid and start attending classes.
(With inputs from Shubham Bayskar)
