An American woman who was found chained to a tree in an Indian forest tied herself up, police believe.
Lalita Kayi Kumar, 50, was found in a forest near Sonurli village, about 280 miles from Mumbai, 10 days ago. She was discovered after a local shepherd heard her cry for help and was taken to hospital where she was treated for dehydration.
Kumar was initially unable to speak, and so she communicated with her doctors and with the police by writing messages on a notepad.
In a message where she described her ordeal, she accused her husband of leaving her in the forest for 40 days.
However, police have told the BBC that Kumar has now admitted that she is not married and she is now receiving psychiatric treatment. Police say it is likely that she was suffering from hallucinations.
She also reportedly told investigators she purchased the locks and chain and tied herself to the tree after having been ‘distressed’ because her visa had expired and she was running out of money.
When she was found she was emaciated.
The local cattle herder who found Kumar said he heard ‘a woman screaming loudly’ from within the forest.
‘When I went there, I saw that one of her legs was tied to a tree,’ he recalled. ‘She was screaming like an animal. I called other villagers and the local police.’
According to the BBC, investigators had doubted Kumar’s story because it is unlikely that she could have survived nearly a month without food or water.
Police discovered a photocopy of her American passport which confirmed that she was from Massachusetts.
She also had a mobile phone, tablet and 31,000 rupees ($370) in her possession.
Kumar has spoken to her family in America on the phone.
Dr Sanghamitra Phule, superintendent of the hospital where Kumar is currently being treated, says her ‘condition is improving’.
He told the BBC that she is eating, walking and exercising, as well as being given ‘some nutrients that her body was lacking’.
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