The American woman found chained in a jungle in India survived for 40 days without food until a local shepherd came across her and alerted authorities.
Lalita Kayi Kumar, 50, a US citizen, was found with her passport and other identification documents, including an expired Indian passport. She was rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment.
The woman is believed to have been living in India with her husband for the past 10 years, according to a report by India Today. He is said to be at the centre of the police investigation and was named in an official report on Tuesday.
Kumar, who is currently unable to speak due to all the misery, wrote the following in a letter from her hospital bed: ‘My husband tied me to a tree in the forest.’
According to the India Today report, several people have already been questioned in connection with the case. The investigation extends beyond Sindhudburg district, where Kumar was found.
Lalita Kumar wrote in a letter from her hospital bed that she was stranded for 40 days
Initial reports indicate that authorities are investigating the possibility that the woman’s husband had something to do with the incident
Kumar was found Saturday morning in a forest near the village of Sonurli, about 280 miles from Mumbai, tied to a tree with an iron chain.
Her right leg was swollen from the chain. She was severely dehydrated, unable to speak and had probably not eaten for days, the Lokmat times reported.
Police have filed an attempted murder case against Satish. He is also accused of endangering the life or personal safety of others and wrongful confinement.
A cattle farmer found Kumar near Sawantwadi on Saturday morning after hearing loud noises coming from the dense forest.
Police arrived at the scene and used a cutter to break the chain and free her from the tree. She was rushed to a primary health centre in Sawantwadi where she was given initial treatment.
Kumar was later transferred to a more advanced facility for further treatment.
Footage captured at the hospital showed Kumar writing a note about her condition, claiming that her ex-husband had left her in the forest after a domestic dispute. She also claimed that she had not eaten for over a month.
“She is out of danger,” a police officer said The Telegraph Online. ‘Doctors treating her said she was suffering from psychiatric problems. We found medical prescriptions in her possession.’
The woman was found tied to a tree, emaciated, by a cattle herder. The woman said her husband had left her there after a domestic dispute
She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was treated for several conditions, including dehydration.
“She is out of danger,” a police official told The Telegraph Online
Officials say Kumar is “doing fine” but remains under observation and “suffering from psychiatric issues.” She is reportedly “weak” and “unable to give her statement” to police at this time.
Kumar was born in the US but had been living in Goa, a neighbouring state of where she was found, for “some time”. Officials are trying to determine who she may have been in contact with in recent months.
Kumar, who was married to a man from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the same area where Vice President Kamala Harris’ mother is from, is believed to have lived in India for at least a decade.
Authorities found a photocopy of her U.S. passport and national ID card at the crime scene. Officials also said her “visa has expired.”
