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‘Snakes are our friends’: How Russian woman spent 8 years hiding in forests in Karnataka
The woman, Nina Kutina (40) alias Mohi, and her two daughters aged six and four, were found by the police during routine patrolling near the Ramateertha Hills.
A Russian woman and her two daughters were found living inside a remote cave in the Ramateertha Hills in Gokarna, in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.
The woman, Nina Kutina (40) alias Mohi, and her two daughters aged six and four, were found by the police during routine patrolling near the Ramateertha Hills, The Indian Express reported.
The cops were checking the area for adventure enthusiasts who might have wandered there, when they saw footsteps leading to a cave. When they followed the marks, they found plastic covers at the entrance of the cave along with photographs of deities. The police spotted a child playing, while Kutina slept with her other daughter.
Gokarna police Sub Inspector Sridhar S R said that the police team convinced her to come out saying there was a warning for landslides in the area. When the police cautioned Kutina about snakes, she said they were their “friends”, according to The Indian Express. “The snakes are our friends and they don’t harm us unless we trouble them,” she said.
Kutina added that when the family went to nearby waterfalls to bathe, the snakes would “roam around” them without showing any aggression. She had been staying at the cave for the last two months, with police also recovering some Russian books from the spot.
How did Kutina reside in forests for 8 years to avoid detection?
Kutina came to India in 2016 on a business visa and was fascinated with the tourism and restaurant sectors in Goa and Gokarna, The Indian Express reported.
Her visa expired on April 17, 2017, and she got an exit permit in 2018 following which she went to Nepal. However, she returned to India soon after and started residing in the coastal forests of Karnataka.
Police said that both her daughters were born in India during hiding, adding that they were investigating whether she received any medical attention during childbirth.
Kutina chose to not check into hotels fearing detection, and meditated and performed pooja for the gods during her stay in the forests, The Indian Express quoted police as saying.
The police further said that the trio lived with “minimal clothing” during the rainy season, with Kutina stocking groceries for daily use.
“Despite having candles, they rarely used artificial light, instead living by natural light,” Sridhar said.
Kutina had a mobile phone in her possession which she used to charge during her visits to the town to buy groceries, but rarely used the device.
Sridhar said that the family looked “healthy and sane”, while highlighting that he had never seen a mother with young children venturing into the forest and residing there.
He added that in a message Kutina sent in Russian, she said she was “devastated” about being separated from nature and on plans to deport her.
“Our cave life is over. Our cozy comfortable house was broken. And we were placed in a prison without sky, without grass, without a waterfall, with an icy hard floor on which we now sleep to ‘protect us from rain and snakes’," Kutina said in the message, according to The Indian Express.
