The woman was found after a shepherd followed cries he heard from the forest in Sonurly village of Sindhudurg, about 450 kilometres from Mumbai, and alerted the police on seeing the her chained and in distress.
A 50-year-old woman, a US passport holder, was found tied to a tree with an iron chain in a forest in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, a police official said on Monday, adding that a photocopy of her US passport as well as other documents, including an Aadhaar card with a Tamil Nadu address, were recovered from her.
The woman was found after a shepherd followed cries he heard from the forest in Sonurly village of Sindhudurg, about 450 kilometres from Mumbai, and alerted the police on seeing the her chained and in distress, news agency PTI cited the official.
The woman was rushed to a hospital in Sawantwadi and then Oros in Sindhudurg.
Considering her mental and health condition, she was shifted to Goa Medical College for advanced treatment, the official said, adding that she is out of danger.
Doctors treating her said she suffers from psychiatric problems, the official said and added that medical prescriptions were found in her possession.
"We found her Aadhaar card with a Tamil Nadu address and a photocopy of her United States of America passport. She has been identified as Lalita Kayi. Her visa has expired. We are getting all these documents verified to ascertain her nationality. Police is also in touch with the Foreigners Regional Registration office," he said.
The official said that the woman has been in India for the past 10 years.
"The woman is not in a position to give her statement. The woman is weak as she has not eaten anything for a couple of days and also as the area experienced heavy rains. We don't know for how long she was tied to that tree. We believe her husband, who hails from Tamil Nadu, tied her there and fled," he said.
The official said police teams have left for Tamil Nadu, Goa and some other places to trace her relatives etc as part of the probe.