Karnataka: Ex-husband demands shared custody after Russian woman, kids found living in Gokarna cave

After Russian woman Nina Kutina was found living in a cave in Karnataka with her daughters, her ex-husband, Israeli citizen Dror Goldstein, is now seeking shared custody. He fears losing contact if they are sent to Russia and wants them to stay in India

Bengaluru: Days after Russian woman Nina Kutina was taken into custody for living in a cave deep inside the forest in Karnataka’s Gokarna with her two daughters, her ex-husband, an Israeli citizen, is demanding shared custody of their daughters, saying he wants to be a father to them.

“I just want to be able to see my daughters a few times a week and tGokarna caveake care of them, too. My concern is that if they go to Russia now, it will get tougher to keep in touch with them. So, I wish they could stay in India,” said Goldstein to PTI Videos on Wednesday.

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Dror Goldstein (38), who said he lives for nearly six months a year in Goa, said he had been living separately from Kutina (40) for the last couple of years and that he “lost touch” with them when she took the daughters and left Goa a few months ago.

“I managed to find them on a beach in Gokarna, but Kutina refused to let me be with my children as I don’t live with them anymore,” added Goldstein. He said he met Kutina in Goa around 2017 and they had been together, travelling between India and Ukraine, until they split.

He said he had left India this time around in March, and because of the war, he couldn’t come before this. “When I heard the news, I booked a flight immediately to Bengaluru to try and meet them,” said Goldstein. He said Kutina wants to raise the children alone.

“She told me in the beginning itself that if I don’t live in the same house, I should not be in touch with them at all,” claimed Goldstein. When they left Goa a few months ago, Goldstein said he filed a missing report with the police. “But now, I want to push for shared custody,” he added.

Goldstein said he has been supporting Kutina since she gave birth to his first daughter. “I give her money every month and then come here to India to spend six months with them, as I have other obligations for the other six months. Also, the visa is only for six months,” he added.

Goldstein said his younger daughter was born in India and that Kutina has been living here (in India) for nearly five years. “As I understand, she (Ama) is a citizen of India and should not be deported,” he said.

The girls, Prema (6) and Ama (4), were found with Kutina in a secluded cave in the Ramatirtha hills of Kumta taluk on July 11. They were found living inside a cave in Gokarna during a routine inspection by the police after a landslide in the area.

Police had said that all three had lived in isolation for nearly three weeks before they were found. In an earlier interview with PTI, Kutina said that her life in the cave was not as it was being portrayed in the media.

She also complained about the place where she and her daughters were taken after being moved from the cave. “We are now kept in an uncomfortable place. It’s dirty, there’s no privacy, and we get only plain rice to eat. Many of our belongings were taken, including the ashes of my son, who passed away nine months ago,” she told PTI Videos.