Dror Goldstein said he was unaware that Nina Kutina and the children had moved into a Gokarna cave in the forested Ramatirtha hills.
A custody dispute has emerged after Russian national Nina Kutina and her two young daughters were found living in a remote cave near the coastal town of Gokarna in Karnataka.
Dror Goldstein, an Israeli national who divides his time between Goa and abroad, travelled to Tumakuru to meet his daughters — Prema, 6, and Ama, 4—currently in government custody. However, due to procedural requirements, he was denied access to the Foreign Detention Centre.
Days after the cave discovery, Nina Kutina’s estranged partner, Goldstein, has sought shared custody of the children, expressing his desire to remain close to them.
‘Didn’t know she was living in a cave’
Goldstein said he last met Kutina and the children at Gokarna’s main beach months ago, unaware they had moved into a cave in the forested Ramatirtha hills. “I didn’t know she was living in a cave, I knew she was in Gokarna,” he said.
“I came to Tumkur to meet my two daughters. They are staying here. I arrived after more than 3 hours from Bengaluru,” Goldstein told news agency ANI, recounting his visit to the detention facility.
“I came to the office (Foreign Detention Centre) and they told me I have to wait until the manager comes. When she came after an hour, she told me that I could not go inside. I need a written paper from the FRO (Foreigners Registration Office). So, she called FRO, and they told me I must come to the office tomorrow morning to discuss this.”
#WATCH | Russian national Nina Kutina was found living with her two daughters in a remote cave near Gokarna in Karnataka.
In Tumakuru, Karnataka, her partner, Dror says, “I came to Tumkur to meet my two daughters…My wish is to be close to my daughters but I don’t want to take… pic.twitter.com/kPqdRkrY8X
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025
Father wants shared custody
The 38-year-old said his biggest fear is losing contact with his daughters if they are sent back to Russia. “My wish is to be close to my daughters but I don’t want to take them away from their mother. Also, they are very close to their mother.
“My wish is to have shared custody…make sure they have proper education, are healthy and happy…I will go wherever they are,” he added.
Earlier too while talking to news agency PTI, Goldstein has said, “I just want to be able to see my daughters a few times a week and take 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.”
Estranged and cut off from contact
Goldstein and Kutina reportedly met in Goa in 2017 and moved between India and Ukraine during their relationship. They separated a few years ago. Goldstein said they lost all contact when she left Goa with the children 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,” he said, adding that Kutina has insisted on raising the children alone.
Goldstein also filed a missing person report after she disappeared from Goa with the children. He now plans to take legal action to obtain joint custody.
The father of her children, Goldstein, said he has “supported Kutina financially” since the birth of their first daughter and pointed out that Ama, their younger daughter, was born in India and has lived here all her life.
Kutina overstayed visa, sought shelter in cave
Nina Kutina and her daughters were found on July 11 after police conducting a post-landslide safety inspection in the Ramatirtha hills came across them in a cave. The family had reportedly been living in solitude for nearly three weeks.
The 40-year-old Russian national later said she overstayed her business visa due to “complicated reasons”. Police said her visa expired in 2017, and although she left for Nepal in 2018 with an exit permit, she returned soon after and started living in the coastal forests.
Kutina later claimed that media reports misrepresented their living conditions and also voiced dissatisfaction with the state-run shelter they were shifted to.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
