Karwar: In an amazing incident, the police in Karnataka ‘rescued’ a 40-year-old Russian woman and her two minor daughters from a remote cave nestled in the serene yet treacherous Ramatirtha Hills of Kumta taluk in the Uttara Kannada district on Friday.
The woman, drawn towards Hinduism and spirituality, had been meditating in the cave for two weeks. Her two children stayed by her side.
The Ramatirtha Hill in Gokarna are not heavily wooded, but surrounded by forests that about in wildlife such as leopards, sloth bears and even tigers. Authorities are amazed that the three did not encounter any animals during their stay in the cave. They are also wondering what the woman and the two children – who are quite healthy – survived on in that wilderness.
The police have identified the woman as Nina Kutina alias Mohi, who travelled from Russia to India on a business visa and found her way to the sacred coastal town of Gokarna via Goa. Her children, Preya (6) and Ama (4), had accompanied her into the heart of the forest, where they had been living in complete seclusion for nearly two weeks.
The small family had made a humble home inside a natural cave surrounded by dense woods and steep slopes. Mohi kept a Rudra idol there and spent her days in ‘Puja’ and meditation, seeking spiritual peace amidst nature. Her only companions were her two little children.
It was during a routine patrol on Friday, following a recent landslide that Police Circle Inspector Sridhar and his team spotted clothes hanging outside the cave. Curious and cautious, the officers made their way through the thick shrubs of Ramatirtha Hill and found Mohi and her two children in the cave.
“Our patrolling team spotted a saree and other clothes hung out for drying outside the cave in Ramatirtha Hill. When they went there, they spotted Mohi along with her children Preya and Ama.” Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police M Narayana said.
“It was quite surprising how she and her children survived in the woods and what they ate. Thankfully, nothing untoward happened to her or the children during their time in the forest,” he added.
It was also found that her visa had expired in 2017. How long she has been living in India remains unclear, Narayana said, adding: “We have arranged her stay in an ashram, run by a Sadhvi. We have initiated the process to take her to Bengaluru from Gokarna and begin the deportation process.”