The American woman found tied to a tree in India supposedly moved to the country a decade ago to learn yoga — and police are investigating her husband for attempted murder.
Lalita Kayi Kumar, 50, was discovered emaciated and filthy in a forest in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra on Saturday.
The US native apparently relocated to India 10 years ago to study yoga and meditation in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Express reported, citing local police.
Kumar allegedly met and married a man in Tamil Nadu, and lived in the state until the couple’s relationship faltered, senior officials told the outlet.
The identification card found with the woman’s belongings listed a Tamil Nadu address, though she had actually been living in Goa — about 18 miles from where she was discovered — for the past few months, the police added.
On Tuesday, investigators opened an attempted murder case against Kumar’s former husband, whose name was not disclosed to the public.
Kumar was unable to speak when she was rescued, but gave investigators a handwritten note that accused the man of tying her up and abandoning her to die without food or water.
The note, which was written in English, also indicated that she had medical issues, including “injection for extreme psychosis which causes severe locked jaw and inability to drink any water.”
The woman claimed to have been abandoned for 40 days, though police said it appeared unlikely that she had been there that long.
Kumar was taken to Goa Medical College for advanced treatment.
Although she was in stable physical condition, by midweek she was suffering from psychiatric issues and was unable to give a statement, officials said.
Police are working to learn more about the woman, including where she was originally from. Kumar was found with a US passport and an expired visa, which investigators used to contact the US Embassy for assistance, the Independent said.
