A passing shepherd in an Indian forest saved an American woman who was chained to a tree and left to die.
50-year-old Lalita Kayi Kumar was crying for help near the village of Sonurli, Maharashtra, India, when the shepherd discovered her.
Police have registered a case of attempted murder against her former husband after she scribbled a note at the hospital linking him to her plight.
Saurabh Agrawal, superintendent of police of Sindhudurg district, said: ‘Based on the note written by the woman at the hospital, a case has been registered against her former husband on charges of attempted murder, act endangering life or personal safety of others and wrongful confinement under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).’
Photos show Lalita malnourished and on the brink of death when rescuers took her to hospital in nearby Goa.
She passed rescuers a note in hospital reading: ’40 days without food in forest – husband tied me to a tree in a forest and said I would die there.’
Mr Agrawal said: ‘We have found that the woman, who appears to have been born in the US, had also resided in Goa for some time. We are trying to find out whom she was in touch with in the past few months.’
A police official was quoted by The Hindu saying Lalita had ‘left her husband’ after a ‘quarrel’.
It’s understood she came to India a decade ago to learn yoga and meditation when she met her husband.
A team of investigators have been sent to Tamil Nadu, where her husband hailed from, to trace her relatives.
An official told the Telegraph India: ‘Considering her mental and health condition, she was shifted to Goa Medical College for advanced treatment. She is out of danger.
‘Doctors treating her said she suffers from psychiatric problems. We have found medical prescriptions in her possession.’
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