American woman found in Indian forest in Goa had been chained to tree for 40 days

Lalita Kayi Kumar, who was chained to a tree for 40 days and too weak to talk, scribbled a note for her rescuers accusing her former husband. Photo / via video

An American woman has been found chained to a tree in an Indian forest where she had been for 40 days, triggering a manhunt for her former husband.

Lalita Kayi Kumar, 49, was found by a shepherd in a forest near Sonurli village, Goa, after he heard her crying for several days.

Unable to speak after her rescue, Kumar wrote a note that alleged her ex-husband had left her to die and that she had been without food for 40 days.

She also claimed she was administered an “injection for extreme psychosis which caused severe jaws locked and inability to drink any water. Need intravenous food later ... husband tied me to a tree in a forest”.

A 50 year old American woman Lalita Kayi Kumar, was found tied to a tree with an iron chain in a jungle in Maharashtra, India, where she had been held captive by her Indian husband for 40 days.

She had come to India a decade ago to learn yoga and meditation, police said on… pic.twitter.com/wKR2w8tIx0

— Gurpreet S. Sahota (@GurpreetSSahota) July 31, 2024

Kumar was found with her legs tied to the tree but her hands unbound. A police officer said she was too weak to unchain herself. There were also reportedly marks from numerous other injuries on her body. She was wearing a see-through raincoat, an olive green shirt and worn-out brown trousers when she was found.

Police have registered a case of attempted murder against her former husband, who is accused of chaining her up before he escaped. Relatives of the couple are being interviewed by police.

Kumar was transferred to Goa Medical College for specialist treatment after doctors raised concerns about her mental health.

A hospital official said: “She is out of danger, but she is suffering from severe depression and other mental health illnesses. We have found medical prescriptions in her possession suggesting she was on antidepressants.”

Documents found on Kumar show that she was a resident of Tamil Nadu, a south Indian state, about 965km away from the forest where she was found. It is thought that she had been living in India for the past decade.