Nearly 600 Tribal Students Leave Maharashtra Hostel Over 'Possession' Fears
Nearly 600 tribal students have left a government-run hostel in Maharashtra's Amravati district after rumours spread that some girls at the residential school were possessed. The incident has prompted health officials and anti-superstition activists to step in and counsel the students.
The residential school in Doma village, located in the tribal-dominated Melghat region of Chikhaldara taluka, houses 810 boys and girls. The trouble began on July 22 when four girls started behaving unusually, crying and laughing uncontrollably. Officials suspect that the behaviour may be linked to mental stress.
Soon after, rumours circulated that the girls were possessed, and over the next few days, around 600 students left the hostel, which is run by the Tribal Development Department. According to a hostel source, some girls claimed to have heard the sound of anklets clanking.
A senior official from the tribal department said that a team of health experts visited the school and found no evidence of anything supernatural. "The symptoms have nothing to do with anything supernatural. It could be a selective hysteria-like condition related to mental stress," the official said.
A psychological report prepared by authorities noted several theories that have emerged among students and locals. Some believe that a 'mahua' tree on the school site, on which spirits were said to reside, was cut down by the management, angering the spirits. Others claim that the temple of a local deity behind the school was affected by the school's drainage channel, upsetting the deity. A third belief is that a tribal youth who died in a nearby field had become a ghost.
The report attributed the situation to superstition, fear, stress, and local beliefs about spirits. Officials and experts have urged the students to view the matter from a scientific perspective.
Senior office-bearers from the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), an organisation working to eradicate blind faith, met the students and counselled them. They appealed to people not to fall for superstitious beliefs. Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade also urged the students not to be afraid and to resume their classes.
Headmaster Sanjay Chaudhary said efforts are underway to counsel the girls and bring them back to school. "A few have returned," he said on Sunday.
The incident highlights the challenges faced by tribal students in remote areas, where access to mental health support and scientific education is limited. Authorities are working to address the underlying stress and dispel the fears that led to the mass exodus.
