What caused 11 children at a Narmada Ashramshala – a residential school where children from tribal communities live and study – to suddenly “shake” and “display unusual behaviour” one after another?More than a week after the incident triggered panic at the Moskut residential school in Dediapada in the tribal district of Narmada in Gujarat, the rumours continue to swirl – there is talk of the supernatural, and of the children being “possessed”; there are also those who believe that something the children ate caused them to behave in that odd way.District health authorities have said that the medical examination and psychological assessment of the children had found them to be healthy, and that there was no evidence of “poisoning” through food.The alleged incident was witnessed on September 9 at the Ashramshala, which is recognised by the Tribal Development Department of the state. It allegedly unfolded during morning prayers at the school.According to school staff, a girl student who had just returned to the assembly after drinking some water began to shake and make unusual movements. Soon afterward, another child began to demonstrate similar behaviour, followed by several other children.As a wave of alarm swept over the school, teachers called ambulances, and the children were rushed to the local government health facility and, subsequently, to the Civil Hospital in Rajpipla town about 50 km away.The episode quickly became a talking point in the surrounding villages, and videos purportedly of the incident began to circulate on social media. The video, which The Indian Express is not publishing, purportedly shows several small children allegedly in a “trance” – some of them are seen thrashing around on the floor, while some others are being held as they appear to “shake” uncontrollably.Story continues below this adWith no plausible explanation for the children’s apparent behaviour available immediately, rumours began to spread about the children being “possessed” by “Hanuman Dada”, a reference to a local belief in a religious or shamanic trance.It was also said that the children were demonstrating the effects of “food poisoning” – however, none of them reported symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea or abdominal pain, school staff said.The district administration examined the children “as a precaution”, but found them to be physically healthy. District Health Officer Janak Madhak said: “Their medical assessments did not indicate food poisoning or any other physical illness. The children were also assessed from a psychological perspective. They are all fine.”Why then did the children behave in that odd way? Madhak offered an explanation – perhaps they were trying to do something that they had seen someone else do.Story continues below this ad“It often happens that children try to imitate someone or something they have seen… It appears to be such a case… We may not perhaps expect them to imitate behaviour they have seen somewhere…,” he said.Madhak added that there was no indication that the children were suffering from mental illness. “In a group setting, such behaviour can spread from one child to another,” he said.Madhak stressed that “We want to dismiss speculation about supernatural causes. The children are healthy and that there was no evidence of any ‘ghost’, ‘spirit’ or ‘shadow’ here…”.Kalpana Vasava, an assistant teacher at the Ashramshala, described the incident of September 9: “It was time for our daily prayers assembly,” Vasava said. “One girl went to drink water. While returning, she was initially walking slowly and then she suddenly started sweating and shaking unnaturally. When we saw her, we picked her up and brought her to the girls’ room.”Story continues below this adVasava said the fan was switched on, the child’s legs were massaged, and she was made comfortable. “Then, suddenly, she started experiencing what appeared to be convulsions,” she said.“After that, a Class 8 student also started experiencing similar movements,” Vasava said. “People said he was under the influence of ‘Hanuman Dada’. We picked him up as well, and took him to the boys’ room and made him comfortable. But soon, more and more children seemed to be displaying the same behaviour…,” she said.As the commotion spread, villagers gathered at the Ashramshala, Vasava said. “We decided to call the parents of the children and inform them about what had happened,” she said. Ambulances were called and the children were taken to hospital in three of the vehicles, she said.Around 50 tribal children stay at the Ashramshala, and around the same number of people from the village camped on the premises to help manage the other students, Vasava said. “Villagers, including the sarpanch, helped us a lot,” she said.Story continues below this adThe principal of the Ashramshala, who was away, arrived at night, Vasava said. The medical officer arrived at 2 am. The statements of all the children were recorded.“The following morning, large crowds of people began showing up at the Ashramshala to know what had happened. All the children who had been taken to hospital, as well as the children who had remained at the school, underwent medical examinations. The doctors told us that the children’s reports were normal and there was no food poisoning,” Vasava said.At the Rajpipla Civil Hospital, doctors tried to understand why the children had behaved in that way, Vasava said. “The doctors told us that the children had been very cooperative during counselling and that their reports were also very good. A psychiatrist also spoke to the children, and found their responses to be satisfactory… The children said that they liked staying with us [at the school] and were happy,” Vasava said.Reports on the incident have been sent to officials in Gandhinagar as well as to Ashramshala authorities, Vasava said. The school has appealed to parents and villagers to not circulate photographs, messages or claims about the incident without verifying them. Vasava said the children had returned to school and were continuing their studies normally.