Overstaying Russian Woman Found Living In Cave With Two Young Daughters
Authorities noted that the cave is located in a hazard-prone area, with previous incidents of landslides and frequent sightings of dangerous snakes and other wildlife
Police have found a Russian national and her two daughters living in a cave atop the forested Ramateertha Hill, near the temple town of Gokarna. While they have since been relocated, police have initiated deportation proceedings through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Bengaluru, after finding her visa had expired in 2017.
Inspector Sridhar S.R. and his team, during a routine patrol on July 9 around 5 pm, came Nina Kutina residing there with her daughters, six and four years old. Kutina told police she had arrived from Goa seeking spiritual solitude and was performing religious rituals and meditation.
Authorities said the cave was located in a hazard-prone area, with previous incidents of landslides and frequent sightings of dangerous snakes and other wildlife. Police counselled her and escorted the family down to safer ground. She was later taken, under police protection, to the ashram of Yogaratna Saraswati Swamiji — an 80-year-old woman monk — at the Shankar Prasad Foundation in Bankikodlu, Kumta taluk.
Officials from the department of women and child welfare were brought in to assist the family, especially since Kutina declined to share her passport or visa details and expressed a desire to continue living in India. Following sustained counselling by officials and spiritual intermediaries, she later stated that her documents might have been misplaced in the forest or near the cave.
The family was then shifted to a government-run women’s reception centre. A joint search by police and forest officials led to the recovery of her passport and visa, which revealed her visa had expired on April 17, 2017.
Gokarna police have now contacted the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Bengaluru, and formal correspondence is underway to initiate the deportation process for the Russian woman and her two children.
According to officials, Nina Kutina and her daughters will be produced before the FRRO office in Shantinagar, Bengaluru, on July 14.
