Police Say Woman Chained to Tree in India Tied Herself Up

Lalita Kayi, the woman who was found chained to a tree in a jungle in Maharashtra, India, reportedly staged the incident, according to local police.

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As previously reported, Kayi initially wrote in a statement to police that her husband had chained her up to the tree and abandoned her in the forest to die without food or water. She is currently seeking treatment at a psychiatric facility and has not spoken publicly about the situation. Saurabh Agarwal, superintendent of police for Singhurg, told the BBC that Kaiyi retracted her claims of being married, claiming she was probably hallucinating when she made the first statement.

Police also said that she later admitted that she had been distressed because her visa had expired, and she was running out of money. She bought locks and chains and tied herself to the tree. Dr. Sanghamitra Phule, superintendent of the psychiatric hospital where Kayi is being treated, says she’s improving. He added that her family has been traced to the United States, and she is in touch with them over the phone.

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When she was found on July 27 by a cow herder who heard her screams, Kayi was in an emaciated state and had to be carried out by a stretcher. The herder said he saw that one of her legs was tied to a tree and contacted other villagers along with local police. After she was transported to a local hospital, police found a copy of her passport, indicating that she was from Massachusetts, and other documents, such as a home address in Tamil Nadu. Kayi also possessed a cell phone, tablet, and 31,000 rupees($370).

She blamed a man that she claimed to be married to in Tamil Nadu and had gone without food or water for 40 days. Authorities questioned the claim due to the unlikely possibility of someone surviving without those essentials within that period.