Lalita Kayi, the woman found chained to a tree in a jungle in the Indian state of Maharashtra, is said to have staged the incident, local police said.

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As previously reported, Kayi initially wrote in a statement to police that her husband had chained her to the tree and left her in the forest to die without food or water. She is currently undergoing treatment at a psychiatric hospital and has not made any public comments on the situation. Saurabh Agarwal, Singhurg police commissioner, told police that BBC that Kaiyi retracted her claim of being married and claimed that she was probably hallucinating when she made the first statement.

Police also said she later admitted she was desperate because her visa had expired and she had run out of money. She bought locks and chains and tied herself to the tree. Dr. Sanghamitra Phule, head of the psychiatric hospital where Kayi is being treated, says she is improving. He added that her family had been traced in the United States and she was in contact with them by phone.

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When she was found on July 27 by a cowherd who heard her cries, Kayi was emaciated and had to be carried out on a stretcher. The herder said he saw one of her legs tied to a tree and contacted other villagers and local police. After she was taken to a local hospital, police found a copy of her passport, which showed she was from Massachusetts, and other documents, such as a home address in Tamil Nadu. Kayi also had a cellphone, a tablet and 31,000 rupees ($370).

She blamed a man she was allegedly married to in Tamil Nadu for going without food and water for 40 days. Authorities questioned this claim as it is unlikely that anyone can survive for that period without these essentials.