Nearly 600 students left a government-run tribal residential school in Maharashtra’s Amravati district after rumours that some girls had been “possessed” following unusual behavioural episodes. Mental health specialists who examined six students reported symptoms including crying, fear, sadness, memory difficulties and physical pain, diagnosing Dissociative Conversion Disorder. Officials said the condition can produce genuine physical or neurological symptoms associated with psychological stress. The medical assessment found no evidence to support supernatural explanations, while affected students are receiving individual treatment and their families have been counselled.

Maharashtra Hostel ‘Haunting’ Rumours Send 600 Students Home, Officials Point to Mental Stress

Close to 600 students have run away from a government-run tribal hostel school in Maharashtra’s Amravati district after rumors spread that several girls were possessed.

Maharashtra hostel case: About 600 tribal students vacate government-run residential school in Amravati district amid rumors of unusual symptoms among several girls

The incident took place at the tribal residential school in Doma village in Chikhaldara taluka in the tribal-dominated Melghat area of north Maharashtra, officials said.

The school, run by the Tribal Development Department, has 810 boys and girls, and the mass exodus is a huge administrative problem.

The incident started on July 22 when several female students allegedly started crying and laughing uncontrollably, much to the surprise of classmates and school authorities.

Afterward, there were rumors that some students had been possessed, and about 600 students left the hostel because of fears for the facility.

Later, a team of mental health specialists from the Amravati District General Hospital visited the school and checked the students after the behavioral incidents that raised concerns were reported.

During the examination, doctors noticed continuous crying, fear, sadness, loss of memory, and physical pain in 6 female students being examined.

Medical personnel diagnosed the students with Dissociative Conversion Disorder, a condition in which psychological stress causes real, involuntary physical or neurological symptoms.

The report said that such symptoms could include paralysis, tremors, or nonepileptic seizures, although medical exams found no structural abnormalities in the body.

According to the medical report, the symptoms reported by the students could be due to academic stress, mental stress and the impact of surrounding events.

The symptoms were not related to supernatural causes, but could be a sign of a selective hysteria-like condition related to psychological stress, an official said.

The students are now being treated individually, and their parents have also been counseled following the medical assessment and subsequent developments.

Also Read: Ashok Dham Temple Incident: 7 Killed, Over a Dozen Injured.

Sandeep Golait urges students and families to ignore rumours

Additional Commissioner (Tribal Dev. Sandeep Golait appealed to students, parents and others concerned not to believe or spread rumors about the hostel.

Golait said efforts would also be made to bring back the students to school in eight days with the support of a number of organizations. 

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANIS) also got involved after students were visited and counseled by senior office-bearers.

The organization is working to eradicate blind faith, and its representatives are said to have counseled students as authorities attempt to allay fears about the hostel.

Amravati MP Balwant Wankhade also urged the students not to be afraid and advised them to start attending their classes again.

The response has therefore concentrated on medical assessment, counseling and communication rather than treating the reported episodes as evidence of supernatural activity.

What happens next at the Maharashtra hostel

Authorities must now concentrate on restoring students’ and families’ confidence and providing continued appropriate psychological and medical support to affected girls.

The administration is expected to work with the school principal, staff, ANIS, and families to help students return within the suggested timeframe.

The incident also illustrates how rumors about unexplained health symptoms can rapidly shape perceptions within residential educational institutions, particularly those with large numbers of students living together.

The important development is still the official medical explanation that the reported symptoms have been attributed to psychological stress rather than supernatural causes, according to Sprouts News.

Further progress will depend on students’ recovery, their return to class, and the administration’s ability to convince families the residential school is safe.

The focus on counseling and factual information by the authorities is expected to continue as the efforts to restore normal academic and residential activities at Doma continue.