A Russian woman who was found living in a cave in coastal Karnataka with her two minor daughters has returned to Russia, according to Vice-president of Human Rights Defence Committee Ivan Melnikov.
On September 27, the Karnataka High Court had permitted the Union Government to issue travel documents to facilitate their return. They left for Russia the next day, an official at the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office told the BBC.
The woman, identified as Nina Kutina, was found in the Ramatirtha Hills near Gokarna in Kumta taluk on July 11. She was living there for two months without travel or residence documents with her children.
The 40-year-old claimed that she had travelled from Goa to Gokarna seeking spiritual solitude. She explained that she chose to live in the forest cave to engage in meditation and prayer, away from the distractions of urban life.
Kutina had said that the family had experience staying in jungles and were not "dying". She explained, "I did not bring my children, my daughters to die in jungle. They did not feel bad, they were very happy, they swam in waterfall, they lived, had very good place for sleeping, a lot of lessons with art making, we made from clay, we painted, we ate good, I was cooking with gas, very good and tasty food", according to ANI.
The police found out that she entered India on a business visa that was valid until April 2017. An exit permit had been issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Panaji, Goa, in April 2018, and records showed she had subsequently exited to Nepal and re-entered India in September 2018, thereby overstaying her permitted duration.
