A 50-year-old woman was discovered chained to a tree in a forest in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. Alongside her was a photocopy of her US passport and other documents, including an Aadhaar card listing a Tamil Nadu address, according to police officials.
A shepherd in Sonurli village, approximately 450 kilometres from the area, heard her cries on Saturday evening and found her distressed. He promptly alerted the police.
“The woman was initially taken to a hospital in Sawantwadi, then to Oros in Sindhudurg. Due to her mental and physical condition, she was later transferred to Goa Medical College for advanced treatment. She is currently out of danger. Doctors treating her have identified psychiatric issues and we discovered medical prescriptions with her,” said the official.
Police have registered a case of attempted murder against the former husband of the 50-year-old American woman after she was found tied to a tree with an iron chain in a forest in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
The case was registered based on the note written by the woman at a hospital, he said.
Authorities found an Aadhaar card with a Tamil Nadu address and a photocopy of a US passport, identifying her as Lalita Kayi. Her visa has expired, and officials are verifying these documents to confirm her nationality. The police are coordinating with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office.
Preliminary information suggests the woman has been in India for the past decade.
“She is not in a condition to provide a statement. The woman is weak from not eating for several days and due to recent heavy rains in the area. It is unclear how long she was tied to the tree. We suspect her husband, from Tamil Nadu, tied her up and then fled,” the official added.
Police teams have been dispatched to Tamil Nadu, Goa, and other locations to locate her relatives as part of the investigation.
