# 600 tribal students leave Maharashtra school after ‘possession’ scare 2026-08-19T15:37:09+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Nearly 600 tribal students left a government residential school in Maharashtra's Amravati district after four girls began crying and laughing uncontrollably on July 22, sparking rumours of spirits and possession. Authorities attributed the episode to mental stress, fear, superstition, and local beliefs, dismissing supernatural explanations. The girls at the ashram school in Doma, Chikhaldara taluka, will move into a newly constructed hostel on the school premises from September 1. Additional Tribal Commissioner Sandip Golait said the new building has bunk beds and can accommodate all girl students, addressing longstanding overcrowding in the existing hostel. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Overcrowded hostels in tribal ashram schools are a persistent problem across Maharashtra, often leading to stress and fear among students. This incident mirrors similar possession scares in other states, where cramped conditions and superstition combine to trigger mass hysteria. The authorities' response, counselling by the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti and a new hostel, tackles both root causes. Watch for whether all 600 students return by September 1, as that will signal if confidence is restored. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Straight news agency-style reporting, leading with facts and attributing claims to officials and reports. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Amravati, Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, Sandip Golait Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/600-tribal-students-leave-maharashtra-school-after-possession-scare/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/600-tribal-students-leave-maharashtra-school-after-possession-scare/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/