A 50-year-old American woman, identified as Lalita Kayi, was discovered chained to a tree in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, having visited Mumbai in June. The purpose of her visit to Mumbai is still under investigation, police said on Wednesday (31).
The Sindhudurg police are examining details of Kayi’s background, including her origins in the US. According to a police official, she arrived in Tamil Nadu a decade ago to study yoga and meditation, later marrying an Indian man and acquiring an Aadhaar card. Following a fallout with her husband, Kayi stayed in Goa and visited Mumbai last month.
On July 27, a shepherd found Kayi chained to a tree in a forest at Sonurli village and alerted the police. They discovered her Aadhaar card and a photocopy of her American passport, noting her visa had expired. She was taken to a hospital in neighboring Goa for treatment.
Saurabh Kumar Agrawal, Superintendent of Police, Sindhudurg, said, “The police have not recorded Lalita Kayi’s statement yet. The verification of the information our teams have received so far is going on.” He added that it is unclear how long Kayi had been chained, but a note recovered from her indicated she hadn’t eaten for 25 days.
The Sindhudurg police have registered an attempt-to-murder case against Kayi’s ex-husband based on the note. Investigators suspect Kayi may suffer from schizophrenia and have sent teams to Tamil Nadu and Goa to locate her former husband and other relatives.
