US woman found chained to tree in Sindhudurg forest; cops recover Aadhaar card, look for kin

Mumbai: A 50-year-old American woman was found tied to a tree with an iron chain in a forest in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, and a set of documents, including an Aadhaar card with a Tamil Nadu address, were recovered from her possession, a police official said on Monday.

Police suspect the husband of the woman, Lalita Kayi, tied her inside the forest in the coastal district, around 450km from Mumbai, and fled.

The woman, who appeared frail and said to be battling mental health issues, is originally from the United States and had been staying in Tamil Nadu, from where her husband hails, for the last 10 years, an official said.

A Sindhudurg police team has been dispatched to the address mentioned in her Aadhaar card to trace her relatives and verify the authenticity of the document issued by the central government, he said.

“We are verifying all the documents recovered from her possession. Only after recording her statement and verifying the documents that we will be able to come to some conclusion,” said Saurabh Agrawal, Superintendent of Police, Sindhudurg district.

A case is yet to be registered in connection with the incident, he said.

A shepherd heard her cries on Saturday evening in Sonurli village and alerted

police after finding her chained and in distress, another official said.

“The woman was rushed to a hospital in Sawantwadi (in the Konkan region) and then Oros in Sindhudurg. Considering her mental and health condition, she was shifted to Goa Medical College for advanced treatment. She is out of danger. Doctors treating her said she suffers from psychiatric problems.

We have found medical prescriptions in her possession,” the official informed.