A dramatic incident took place atop Karnataka’s Ramatirtha Hill in Gokarna, where a Russian woman and her two young daughters were found living in a remote, hazardous cave. On July 9, around 5:00 PM, Inspector Sridhar SR and his Gokarna police team, while patrolling the forested, landslide-prone area to ensure tourist safety, noticed movement near a cave. Upon closer inspection, they found Nina Kutina (40) with her daughters, Prema (6 years, 7 months) and Ama (4 years), residing in a makeshift shelter deep within the forest.
Kutina explained that she had traveled from Goa to Gokarna seeking spiritual solitude—hoping to meditate and pray away from the noise of city life. She had transformed the cave into a spiritual retreat, installing a Rudra idol and dedicating her time to rituals. However, the location was extremely dangerous: Ramatirtha Hill had experienced a major landslide in July 2024 and is known for housing venomous wildlife, making it especially unsafe for children.
Concerned for the children’s safety, police counseled Kutina and escorted the family down the hill. At her request, they were temporarily shifted to an ashram run by Swami Yogaratna Saraswati in Bankikodla village, Kumta taluk. During follow-up questioning, Kutina was hesitant to share her passport and visa status. Eventually, she admitted her documents were lost in the cave.
A joint search by police and forest officials recovered her passport, revealing she had entered India on a business visa that expired in April 2017. Although she had briefly exited to Nepal and re-entered in 2018, she had overstayed her permitted duration.
The family has since been moved to the Women’s Reception Centre in Karwar under protective custody. Uttara Kannada police have begun deportation proceedings in coordination with the FRRO Bengaluru, and the Russian Embassy has been notified to facilitate their return.