"My husband tied me to a tree and told me I would die there." These are the dramatic words of Lalita Kayi Kumar, a woman found days ago by a farmer who heard her crying in the middle of a forest in the Sindhudurg district, in Maharashtra, about 450 kilometers south of Mumbai.
She was chained by her right leg, dirty, emaciated, without food or drink, after spending days in the rain and in a state of extreme weakness that prevented her from speaking. Her explanations came in writing after being taken to a hospital to save her life.
According to the information provided by the Police, she is an American woman, 50 years old, who arrived in India a decade ago and had been living with her husband in Tamil Nadu. This information is known because her passport and identification document were found next to her.
A preliminary diagnosis suggests that, in addition to her deteriorated state, she suffers from psychiatric problems. She herself wrote in a notebook that she would need intravenous feeding because in the past she had been given an "injection for extreme psychosis that causes severe jaw locking" and prevents her from drinking. Although Lalita Kayi Kumar is recovering well, she is still weak and unable to give a statement.
Initial investigations suggest that she may have been accompanied to a train station located fifteen minutes away from where she was found abandoned. "40 days without food or water. My husband tied me to a tree in the forest and told me I would die there," read one of the notes that hospital staff handed over to the authorities.
The police report against the man includes charges of attempted murder, illegal confinement, and endangering personal safety. According to India Times, the man is named Satish, several people have been questioned but no arrests have been made.