Days after a young woman in Andhra Pradesh was found unconscious in mysterious circumstances on the outskirts of Vizianagaram town, police have found that the incident was staged by the woman to give the impression that she was kidnapped. Earlier on Monday, the woman was found unconscious by local residents, with a cloth stuffed in her mouth and her legs and hands tied up, lying by the roadside in Gurla mandal of Vizianagaram district.

The 20-year-old woman, who is a third year BCom student, had been staying at a hostel in Vizianagaram town. At the time, police had said that the woman had left her hostel on Sunday to visit her hometown nearby for the weekend. They said that the woman was unable to coherently narrate what happened to her after leaving the hostel and before being found by local residents and the police.   

In a statement to the media, Vizianagaram Superintendent of Police B Raja Kumari said that the woman had staged the ‘kidnap’ incident to convince her parents, as she was afraid of them. According to SP Raja Kumari’s statement, the woman had left her hostel on Saturday to meet a male friend, but had informed hostel authorities that she was visiting her uncle’s house. 

The woman then got to know that her brother had inquired about her at the hostel, soon after she had left, leading her to panic that her family would find out that she was out with a friend.  She took a bus on her way back, and got down at Gurla. According to the police, she tied up her hands and legs by herself and pretended to be unconscious in order to convince her family and the police that she had been kidnapped. On observing footage from CCTV cameras, it was confirmed that the ‘kidnap’ was staged, police said. 

On Monday, soon after she was found by local residents, police had shifted the woman to the hospital. A case was registered based on her complaint, and the case had been handed over to the district Disha women’s police. 

(With IANS inputs)