Russian woman, daughters who lived in cave return home
Nina Kutina, a 40-year-old Russian woman, and her two young daughters were found living in a cave near Gokarna, Karnataka this July.
They'd been there for almost two weeks without valid travel papers before police discovered them during a safety patrol.
After spending over two months under the care of authorities in an ashram, the family has now returned to Russia.
Why did Kutina live in a cave?
Kutina first came to India on a business visa that expired way back in 2017. She briefly left for Nepal but soon returned and overstayed her visa.
Searching for spiritual peace, she moved from Goa to Gokarna with her daughters—aged six and four—where she meditated and performed puja while caring for them in the cave.
How the unusual case ended
Police found the family while patrolling an area following a landslide alert.
The three were placed under the care of authorities in an ashram until the Karnataka High Court finally cleared their travel documents on September 27, 2024.
They left India the next day—wrapping up an unusual story of spiritual searching mixed with immigration trouble.