Nina Kutina, the 40-year-old Russian woman who was rescued from a remote cave near Gokarna in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, on Tuesday said that she overstayed her business visa in India because of several complicated reasons.
Kutina and her daughters — Preya, 6, and Ama, 4 — were found on July 11 living in a secluded cave nestled among dense forests and rugged terrain for at least two weeks.
She and her daughters made their way from Goa to the spiritual coastal town of Gokarna, known for its deep religious and meditative roots.
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According to the police, she came to India from Russia on a business visa that expired in 2017. The next year, she got an exit permit and went to Nepal. However, she returned to India soon after and started residing in the coastal forests of Karnataka.
According to a New York Times report, Nina arrived with two sons and a daughter, according to government records. Her elder son died at 21 years of age, in a bike accident last year, and the whereabouts of her younger son, who is 11, are unknown, according to police officials.
{{/usCountry}}According to a New York Times report, Nina arrived with two sons and a daughter, according to government records. Her elder son died at 21 years of age, in a bike accident last year, and the whereabouts of her younger son, who is 11, are unknown, according to police officials.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | ‘We only feared people, not animals’: Russian woman on life in Gokarna cave with daughters
On a question about why she did not return to Russia, Kutina told news agency PTI that her family was dealing with constant grief, paperwork and other problems.
“There have been many complicated reasons. First, there were multiple personal losses - not just the death of my son, but also a few other close people. We were constantly dealing with grief, paperwork, and other problems.”
She told the news agency she has travelled to four other countries and then came back to India “because we love India deeply - its environment, its people, everything”.
“Now kept in an uncomfortable place”
The Russian woman told PTI that she has been to 20 countries in the last 15 years.
“Over the past 15 years, I’ve been to around 20 countries. My children were all born in different places. I delivered all of them myself, without hospitals or doctors, because I know how to do it. No one helped me, I did it alone,” she said.
She also described her life in the cave, saying that the family woke up with the sun, swam in rivers, and lived in nature.
"I cooked on a fire or gas cylinder, depending on the season, and got groceries from a nearby village. We painted, sang songs, read books, and lived peacefully,” she said.
“We are now kept in an uncomfortable place. It’s dirty, there’s no privacy, and we get only plain rice to eat. Many of our belongings were taken, including the ashes of my son, who passed away nine months ago,” she added.