Amravati ‘Ghost’ Rumours: Officials Spend Night at Tribal School After 610 Students Flee Hostel
Amravati officials spent Tuesday night at a tribal school in Doma village to dispel 'ghost' rumours after 610 of 850 hostel students fled in fear. A health assessment linked the symptoms to stress, not supernatural causes. Officials urged students to reject superstition.
To confront rumours of a "ghost" haunting a tribal residential school in Amravati's Doma village, the district's top officials spent Tuesday night at the campus, having dinner and interacting with students in an effort to restore confidence after hundreds of children fled the hostel in fear. Amravati Collector Ashish Yerekar, Zilla Parishad CEO Satyam Gandhi, Superintendent of Police Niketan Kadam and other senior officials stayed at the campus in Chikhaldara taluka and urged students to reject superstition and adopt a scientific outlook, according to The Indian Express.
How The Rumours Began
The episode began with rumours that some girl students had been "possessed," prompting around 610 of the hostel's approximately 850 students to leave for their homes. A subsequent health assessment found no evidence of supernatural activity and linked the symptoms reported by affected girls to dissociative or conversion symptoms associated with mental stress and fear. Arai Village Ghost Rumours: Nashik Police Debunk Viral AI-Generated Photos and Videos Causing Panic.
Weeks later, around 350 of those who left had still not returned, although school authorities said the festive season and holidays could also have contributed to the absence.
Officials Stay Overnight, Inaugurate New Hostel
The team inspected and inaugurated a newly constructed girls' hostel on the campus, intended to improve accommodation and address overcrowding.
"There were rumours of presence of a 'ghost' at the school, which created fear among students. We wanted to personally be there, stay the night and instil confidence among the students," Kadam told The Indian Express. Ghost Caught on CCTV Camera in Aligarh? Viral Video on 'Aatma' Suddenly Appearing in Narrow Lane of UP Town Creates Panic.
Yerekar urged students to draw inspiration from tribal leaders such as Birsa Munda and Tantya Bhil and "keep superstition away" from their lives. He also encouraged them to aspire to become IAS and IPS officers.
Students Share Their Fears, Officials Offer Guidance
The officials' informal interaction included dinner and discussions about their careers and civil services journeys. Students also spoke about their fears and asked the officials for guidance.
Kalyani Gopichand Jawarkar, a Class XI science student, said the officials' visit helped remove fear among students. "They removed the fear from our minds and gave us confidence," she said.
The earlier assessment had recorded symptoms including crying spells, fearfulness, low mood, physical complaints, loss of appetite, forgetfulness and memory loss among affected girls, with the episode described as resembling "selective hysteria."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2026 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).