Russian national Nina Kutina, 40, who was found living with her two daughters in a remote cave near Gokarna in Karnataka, sent an emotional message to her friend on Sunday saying that her cosy, comfortable life in the forest was shattered.
The police convinced Kutina – whose visa had expired years ago, even before the two children were born – to return to the town stating that the area where she stayed was prone to landslides and had venomous snakes. They were first taken to an ashram before being accommodated at a women’s centre in Karwar. Officers have also initiated proceedings to deport the woman and the minor children.
The police discovered that the trio had been residing there for the last two months, which later turned out to be the culmination of an eight-year journey in hiding. (Express Photo)
In the emotional message to her friend and a police officer over WhatsApp, Kutina wrote in Russian and said their cave life was over. “And we were placed in a prison without sky, without grass, without a waterfall, with an icy hard floor on which we now sleep for ‘protection from rain and snakes’. I want to share with you solid knowledge based on many years of real experience of living in the jungle, under the open sky, in harmony with nature. Not once in our entire life there did a snake ever harm us. Not a single animal attacked us. For many years, the only thing we feared was people,” the message said.
“Rain is the best thing that nature gives us. Living in the rain, having a comfortable place, is a great joy and strength and health. Once again, evil has won. But we sincerely wish every one of you a good life — full of kindness and freedom — free from the narrow-minded views of fools and their harmful actions,” Kutina wrote.
‘Baseless fears’
Elaborating on their life in the jungle, she said, “I can hear rainwater flowing through the wall of the house. If the rain continues long enough, the wall will start to leak. It’s the same as in a cave — only there it is soft, fresh, and cosy. Snakes can crawl into a house — into the toilet, the bathroom, the kitchen, even the toilet bowl. So-called “child protection” is complete nonsense. Totally baseless fears. In their fancy houses, it is the same as in the cave — only worse. Because besides the same issues, there is a pile of negatives instead of positives. And both piles are massive.”
“It is funny how they imagine snakes in the jungle. Even though it is common knowledge that snakes often crawl into houses… Do they seriously think we see snakes out there more often than they do in their homes? Do they imagine snakes crawl in herds, and pile up in stacks? It’s complete idiocy. Snakes don’t even move during rain. They stay in their dens, like all normal creatures. The only creatures who act abnormally are humans,” she added.
“So here they came — ten of them, in two cars. They must be judging snakes by their own standards. As if ten snakes would suddenly show up and attack someone all at once. Does that ever happen? In nine months, we saw at most four snakes — and that too during their season.”
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“Back when people in their own groups were posting photos of snakes crawling into their houses, they had more than we did. That is why I’m hurt by the world of humans — where people with no proper education are given positions that give them power over the lives of others — whole families, even. They are convinced they have the right to act like this. And they carry out these horrifying vigilante “justices,” based purely on their fears — on childish fairytales — not on real experience, not on knowledge, but on rumors, on cowardice — the kind that grows in the darkness where no light of learning reaches, neither from experienced teachers nor from their own life, it added.
Kutina ‘deeply disillusioned yet compassionate,’ says SP
Speaking about Kutina’s message, Narayana M, Superintendent of Police, Uttara Kannada, said she appeared to be “deeply disillusioned with human society, yet still compassionate and spiritually grounded”.
“During the probe, the records revealed that she had arrived in Goa on a business visa valid from October 18, 2016 to April 17, 2017, overstayed beyond this period, and was issued an exit permit by FRRO (Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office) in Panaji, Goa on April 19, 2018,” he said.
“She then went to Nepal and exited from there on September 8, 2018 and returned to India again. Given these circumstances, the foreign woman and her two young daughters have been safely accommodated at the Women’s Reception Centre in Karwar under the Department of Women and Child Welfare for their protection,” the SP added.
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The police said both of Kutina’s daughters were born in India while she was in hiding. She has, however, refused to discuss their father, officers said, adding that they are probing whether she received any medical care during childbirth. Kutina’s passport was found passport near the cave.
Legal experts have, meanwhile, said that the deportation process was complicated and could cost Kutina a lot of time and money as neither the Indian government nor the Russian government is likely to fund their travel.