608 flee Maharashtra school amid ‘mass hysteria’
By: Anil JadhavAMRAVATI: When laughter scares a village, could it be spirits lurking in the shad-ows? Or just troubled minds?In the tribal-dominated pocket of Melghat in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, rumours fuelled an exodus from a govt ashram school last week after some girls were spotted laughing without reason and then going quiet. At least 608 students of the school in Doma village went back home, with their parents and villagers fearing the premises were haunted.Officials and doctors visited the school and described the laughing fits as ‘mass hysteria’. On Thursday, state tribal commissioner Leena Rathod went to the village to review the situation.Taluka medical officer Dr Abhishek Naidu said stress and anxiety sparked the collective reaction, a phenomenon medically described as mass psychogenic illness.Officials said the episode unfolded more than a week ago, when 16 students suddenly began crying, laughing and then going numb. Some students said they heard ghungroos. Officials said the rumours spread from hostel corridors to the village.Tribal development dept officials said the episode exposed long-standing management lapses at the school, including overcrowded rooms, poor food quality and lack of sanitation. Officials cited absence of counselling and a delayed response after the first case of distress, which they said allowed fear to spread.Headmaster Sanjay Chaudhari denied a claim by parents that the episode followed the felling of a mahua tree on the campus, saying it had been cut six years ago.A team from Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti went to the school to counsel students. Ganesh Halkare, state executive committee member of the rationalist group, said the district administration would launch a wider awareness drive across Melghat to counter superstition.
