Amravati: At least 608 students left a govt ashramshala in Amravati’s tribal-dominated Melghat after rumours fuelled panic last week about the premises being haunted. It all started after a few girls were spotted laughing without reason then suddenly going quiet. Parents said more students started behaving this way. Soon, superstitious beliefs of spirits lurking the shadow triggered the exodus.Govt officials and doctors visited the school in Doma village multiple times and described the incident as ‘mass hysteria’. Parents in the area, however, were not easily convinced. On Thursday, state tribal commissioner Leena Rathod reached the village to review the situation and allay fears.Taluka medical officer Dr Abhishek Naidu said the supernatural phenomenon theory was a hoax. Simultaneous stress and anxiety among a group of students sparked the collective reaction, a phenomenon medically described as mass psychogenic illness, he said.Officials said the episode unfolded over a week ago, when around 16 students suddenly began crying, laughing and then going numb. Some students said they heard the jingle of ghungroos, where no one stood. Officials said the rumours spread from hostel corridors to the village, and as fears peaked, 608 girls quit the campus and went home.Tribal development department officials said the panic exposed long-standing management lapses at the school, including overcrowded rooms, poor food quality and lack of sanitation. Officials said some hostel rooms have 50 students huddled together and this contributed to stress among children who stay away from families. Officials also cited absence of counselling and a delayed response after the first case of distress, which they said allowed fear to spread, instead of being contained.Headmaster Sanjay Chaudhari denied a claim by parents that the episode followed felling of a mahua tree on campus, saying the tree had been cut six years earlier to build a playground.A team from state Akhil Bhartiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti reached the school to counsel students. Ganesh Halkare, state executive committee member of the samiti, said the district administration would launch a wider awareness drive across Melghat to counter superstition.“Special initiatives will be launched in coordination with the district collector, who heads anti-witchcraft committee, and joint director of the social welfare department to eradicate superstition and promote a scientific temper,” Halkare told TOI.
