Savikalpa Thapa, Pune
A woman was found chained to a tree in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. She has been identified as Lalita Kayi (50) from the United States living in Tamil Nadu as mentioned in her Aadhar card address.
Documents inclusive of Aadhar card, a photocopy of her US passport and medical reports have been retrieved from her. Her US visa has expired and the medical reports retrieved from her suggest that she is being treated for mental illness. In the evening of Saturday, she was rescued by the Police after a shepherd, Pandurang Gavkar found her chained to a tree.
After her rescue, a police official said that the area where she was chained had received heavy rainfall and she had been tied and starving for an indefinite period. He stated that she was too weak to give any statement. Initially, she was taken to Sawantwadi Hospital then shifted to Oros Hospital, Sindhudurg and later to Goa Medicinal College for advanced treatment of her mental illness.
Later, SP Saurab Agarwal said that a case has been filed against Lalita’s ex-husband, who is suspected to have tied her to the tree and left her to die. He said, “Based on the note written by the woman at the hospital, a case had been registered against her former husband on charges of attempted murder, act endangering life or personal safety of others and wrongful confinement under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),”
He also said that every information in the note written by her is being verified including the statement against her husband of leaving her to die in the forest in Sonurli, Maharashtra. In the note, she also revealed that she hadn’t eaten for 40 days.
An official said that Lalita was married to a man in Tamil Nadu and was residing in India for a decade. She was also residing in Goa for some time. The Police team in Tamil Nadu and Goa are trying to find her ex-husband and relatives.
Recently, a video of her is being circulated online. The video shows her being rescued from the forest and undergoing treatment in a hospital. She is also seen writing a note alleging her husband of tying her to a tree in the forest.