A custody dispute has emerged in Karnataka after Russian national Nina Kutina and her two young daughters, Prema (6) and Ama (4), were discovered living in a remote cave near Gokarna. Police found the family on 11 July during a post-landslide inspection in the Ramatirtha hills. Kutina, 40, explained that her business visa had expired in 2017, and despite briefly leaving for Nepal in 2018 with an exit permit, she returned and began living in the forests along the coast. Following their discovery, local authorities placed the family in a government shelter. However, Kutina voiced dissatisfaction with the shelter’s conditions and criticised the media’s portrayal of their circumstances.
The girls’ father, Israeli national Dror Goldstein, travelled from Bengaluru to Tumakuru hoping to visit his daughters but was denied access, being told he required written permission from the Foreigners Registration Office. Goldstein said he last saw the family months ago on Gokarna’s main beach and was unaware they had moved into a cave. Expressing concern that his daughters might be sent to Russia, Goldstein emphasised his wish for shared custody so the children could remain in India. He added that he has financially supported Kutina since the birth of their first child and that the younger daughter was born and raised in India. The couple, who met in Goa in 2017 and later separated, have had a strained relationship, with Goldstein claiming Kutina refuses to let him see the children. He now plans to pursue legal action to secure joint custody, hoping to provide greater stability and ensure the girls maintain ties with both parents.