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Russian man denied meeting wife, daughters in Karnataka detention centre after cave rescue in Gokarna
The woman, 40-year-old Nina Kutina, had been living with her children in a cave on Ramatirtha Hill for what she described as a meditative retreat.
Days after a Russian woman and her two young daughters were rescued from a forest cave in Karnataka's Gokarna, her husband was denied permission to meet them at a detention facility in Tumakuru. The woman, 40-year-old Nina Kutina, had been living with her children in a cave on Ramatirtha Hill for what she described as a meditative retreat, but authorities flagged her for overstaying her visa by over eight years.
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On Thursday, Nina’s husband, Dror, reportedly travelled more than three hours from Bengaluru to the Tumakuru rescue centre in hopes of seeing his family. However, his visit ended in disappointment.
I came to see my daughters: Dror
“I came to see my daughters, who are inside. But I was told I couldn’t meet them unless I had an official letter from the FRRO,” Dror told ANI, referring to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. He said that after a long wait at the facility, officials contacted the FRRO and informed him he would need to visit their office the following morning to seek approval.
The incident has drawn attention to the unusual lifestyle and immigration violations of Kutina, who, along with her daughters, six-year-old Prema and four-year-old Ama, was discovered living in a forest cave near Gokarna on July 9. The Gokarna police, during a routine patrol around 5 PM on Ramatirtha Hill, stumbled upon the family living in what they described as risky and unsanitary conditions.
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Kutina told authorities that she had moved from Goa to the forest in search of spiritual solitude and to live closer to nature. She insisted that her daughters were healthy, safe, and thriving in the environment. “People are spreading lies. We are experienced in living close to nature. My daughters were happy, playing, swimming in the waterfall, learning art. I cooked tasty food on a gas stove and we had a beautiful life,” Kutina said in a statement.
Despite her defense, the police handed the case over to the FRRO, which found that Kutina had been living in India on an expired visa since more than eight years. Following her rescue, she and her children were transferred to a shelter in Tumakuru for further processing and possible deportation.
