Uttarakhand: 'Mass hysteria' in government school, girls 'acting as if possessed'

BAGESHWAR: A video of girl students purportedly screaming and rolling on the floor at a government school in Raikholi area of Bageshwar district is being widely circulated on social media.
Teachers, clueless about the reason for the behaviour, are groping for answers to the "strange turn of events on their school premises" while parents, too, are a worried lot.
"Around 15 girls from the school have been acting in a strange manner for the past two days. They are trembling and untying their hair and screaming wildly. This mass hysteria has triggered panic in the area," said a local resident.
There were bizarre scenes in the school since Wednesday morning, another resident said, adding that videos of "young girls acting as if possessed have spooked all of us".
The district's chief education officer Gajendra Son said, "We have received information from the local residents that several girl students of the age group 11 to 16 fainted after behaving abnormally. A medical team will soon arrive to meet these girls."
Son added that he had taken up the matter with CMO Sunita Tamta. A few officials visited the school for inspection on Thursday, he further said.
A parent of one of the affected girls said, "I just hope that my daughter has not been possessed by some evil spirit. We are all very worried and pray that my daughter and the other girls get well soon." Incidentally, similar instances of students behaving in such a manner had also come to light in schools in Almora and Nainital in the past.