Mystery Surrounds Russian Woman and Daughters Found Living in Indian Cave
With expired documents, a cave-born child, and a custody battle brewing, the story of Nina Kutina is unfolding less like a travel mishap and more like a cross-border mystery.
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Indian authorities are unraveling the enigmatic story of Nina Kutina, a 40-year-old Russian woman discovered living with her two young daughters, ages 5 and 6, in a cave near Ramteertha hills in Karnataka’s Gokarna forest, close to the tourist haven of Goa. Karnataka police found the trio on July 9, 2025, during a routine patrol and have since placed them in a detention center near Bengaluru, pending deportation for lacking valid visas.
Kutina, in interviews with Indian news agencies ANI and PTI, defended her unconventional lifestyle, insisting she and her daughters were “happy” in the cave, which she said promoted “good health” through closeness to nature. Yet, questions linger about how they ended up in a snake- and wildlife-infested forest, how long they lived there, and their true identities.
Police stumbled upon the family after spotting brightly colored saris drying outside the cave, its entrance draped with similar fabrics. A young blonde girl ran out, leading officers to Kutina and her other daughter inside. Their belongings were sparse—plastic mats, clothes, instant noodles, and groceries, in a leaking cave. Videos seen by the BBC show the children, dressed in vibrant Indian clothing, smiling. “They appeared quite comfortable,” said M. Narayana, Uttara Kannada’s police superintendent, though convincing Kutina to leave was challenging. She told officers, “Animals and snakes are our friends. Humans are dangerous.”
Kutina, who says she hasn’t lived in Russia for 15 years and has traveled to countries like Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Nepal, claimed one daughter was born in a Goa cave. She admitted her visa expired, citing grief over her eldest son’s death in a Goa road accident last year. Authorities found an expired passport showing a 2016-2017 business visa; she overstayed, left for Nepal in 2018, and reportedly returned to India by February 2020. The father of the girls, Israeli businessman Dror Goldstein, told NDTV he filed a missing persons report in Goa and seeks joint custody to prevent their deportation to Russia, per the BBC.
Kutina said they lived in the Karnataka cave for a week, having previously resided in a Goa cave. She described their life as joyful, with her daughters swimming in waterfalls and engaging in art, rejecting claims of danger despite the presence of snakes. A Hindu idol found in the cave led to speculation of spiritual motives, which she denied, emphasizing her preference for nature. The family, deemed medically fit after a hospital check, now awaits repatriation as authorities coordinate with the Russian consulate in Chennai.