Police in India’s southern Karnataka state have discovered a Russian woman and her two young daughters living in isolation within a remote forest cave.
Nina Kutina, 40, and her children, aged six and four, were found by officers on July 9 during a routine patrol of Ramatirtha Hill, a popular coastal tourist spot.
Police officer Sridhar S.R. confirmed the family had been residing in the cave for over a week.
Authorities are now arranging for Ms Kutina’s repatriation to Russia, as she had overstayed her visa. She and her daughters have been transferred to a detention facility for foreign nationals living in India illegally.
In a statement, police noted that Ms Kutina spent her time in the cave meditating by candlelight, telling officers she was "interested in staying in the forest and worshiping God."
Mr Sridhar added that Ms Kutina had previously worked as a Russian language tutor in Goa, another coastal tourist state in southern India.
“It is nothing but her love for adventure that brought her here,” said Sridhar.
He said police found pictures of Hindu deities on the inside walls of the cave where Kutina had been living. In a photograph provided by the police, she is seen in front of makeshift curtains made of red saris that covered the entrance to the cave.
The Russian Embassy in New Delhi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The police statement said Kutina sent a message to her friends after she was found.
“Our peaceful life in the cave has ended — our cave home destroyed,” she wrote in the message, according to the statement.
The Associated Press contacted Kutina over the phone but she declined to comment.
On Tuesday, she told news agency Press Trust of India that she spent her days in the cave by painting, singing, reading books, and living peacefully with her children.
Would cockpit video recorders help plane crash investigators? Experts are divided
India rolls out health warnings for popular street foods like samosas and jalebis
Tesla debuts in India with a whopping $79,000 Model Y variant
What are fuel switches and why do they matter in the Air India crash?
The unanswered questions about Air India crash after preliminary report published
Yemen postpones execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya on death row
