A 50-year-old woman from the United States was found chained to a tree in a forest in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Saturday.
According to the police, the woman, identified as Lalita Kayi Kumar S, lives in Tamil Nadu and is originally from the US. Police suspect that the woman was chained inside the forest by her husband after a domestic dispute.
The woman was discovered by a shepherd in Sonurli village who heard her cries on Saturday evening and alerted the police. The man found the woman with her leg tied to a tree with a chain and informed the police.
After rescuing her, the police administered first aid and admitted her to a primary healthcare centre in Sindhudurg's Sawantwadi taluka. She was later referred to a more advanced medical facility in Sindhudurg's Oros after primary treatment.
The doctors treating her said that the woman seemed to be suffering from psychiatric problems and communicated with them by writing about her health problems on a piece of paper.
A video from inside the hospital showed the woman writing about her condition, highlighting that she was without food for 40 days. In her written message, she claimed that her husband had tied her in the forest after a quarrel.
Speaking to the media, a Maharashtra Police official said that no FIR has been registered in connection with the matter yet, but a probe has been launched.
"The woman is not in a position to give her statement. The woman is weak as she has not eaten anything for a couple of days and also as the area experienced heavy rains. We don't know for how long she was tied to that tree. She reportedly left her husband after a quarrel with her husband," the official said.
Source: India Today