Mystery of American Woman Found Chained in Maharashtra Forest

A 50-year-old American woman, Lalita Kayi, was found chained to a tree in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district. The motive behind her Mumbai visit is still unclear, with police investigating her past, including her marriage to an Indian man in Tamil Nadu. The Sindhudurg police are probing into the case for further details.

A 50-year-old American woman, identified as Lalita Kayi, was discovered tied to a tree with an iron chain in a forest in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district. The woman had recently visited Mumbai in June, but the motive behind her visit remains unclear, according to police reports on Wednesday.

Sindhudurg police have gathered information regarding Kayi, including her origin in the U.S. Various police teams are currently verifying these details. Kayi reportedly came to Tamil Nadu a decade ago for yoga and meditation, eventually marrying an Indian man, staying with him for several years, and obtaining an Aadhaar card. After a dispute with her husband, she resided in Goa before traveling to Mumbai in June.

Police are still verifying the details of Kayi's Mumbai visit and her activities there. On July 27, a shepherd found her after hearing cries in a forest at Sonurli village. Local authorities discovered her Aadhaar card with a Tamil Nadu address and a copy of her American passport, revealing that her visa had expired. She was shifted to a hospital in Goa for treatment. Sindhudurg police have registered an attempt-to-murder case against her former husband, suspecting she might be a schizophrenia patient, with investigations targeting her ex-husband and other relatives in Tamil Nadu and Goa.