Chilling mystery as mum and kids are found living inside cave surrounded by snakes

A shocking mystery has begun after police found a Russian woman and her two young daughters living in a remote forest cave in India earlier this month.

Nina Kutina, 40, and her daughters, aged six and five, were found by police on 9 July during a routine patrol to Ramatirtha Hill, a popular tourist site on the coast of Karnataka.

The cave is located near the hills in the Gokarna forest, which borders Goa and is home to a plethora of wildlife and animals.

M Narayana, superintendent of police for Uttara Kannada district, told the BBC: "The area is popular with tourists, especially foreigners. But it has a lot of snakes and it's prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season. To ensure the safety of tourists, we started patrolling the forests last year."

Authorities say the family had been living in the cave for over a week and did not have the valid documentation to stay in India.

The mystery of a Russian woman who was found living in a cave in India has gripped the world (Karnataka Police Department)

Police also said they were taking steps to repatriate Kutina to Russia for overstaying her visa and for now she and her children have been moved to a nearby detention facility for foreigners living illegally in the country.

The family were taken to a nearby hospital for a health check-up but they were found to be completely medically fit.

A spokesperson said that Kutina spent her time in the cave meditating by candlelight, and that she told investigating officers she was ‘interested in staying in the forest and worshipping God’.

But now, more than a week after they were found, there’s still not much clarity on what actually happened or led them to be there.

The mother told police that she had worked as a tutor of Russian language in Goa and authorities said ‘it is nothing but her love for adventure that brought her here’.

Police also found pictures of Hindu deities on the inside walls of the cave where the family had been living.

In a photograph provided by the police, she is seen in front of makeshift curtains made of red saris that covered the entrance to the cave.

Officials also said Kutina sent a message to her friends after she was found, reading: "Our peaceful life in the cave has ended - our cave home destroyed."

The mother had to be convinced to leave the cave, where she had been living for at least a week (Karnataka Police Department)

On Tuesday (15 July), she told news agency Press Trust of India that she spent her days in the cave painting, singing, reading books, and living peacefully with her children.

Narayana told the BBC: "The woman and her children appeared quite comfortable in the place. It took us some time to convince her that it was dangerous to live there."

But, the mum simply responded with: "Animals and snakes are our friends. Humans are dangerous."

In an interview with India’s ANI news agency, as per the BBC, she added: "It is not about spiritually. We just like nature because it gives us health... it's very big health, it's not like you live in a home.

"We were not dying, and I did not bring my children, my daughters, to die in jungle. They were very happy, they swam in the waterfall, they had a very good place for sleeping, a lot of lessons in art making, we made from clay, we painted, we ate good, I was cooking very good and tasty food."

During the interview, she also reportedly confirmed that she has four children between the ages of five and 20 years.

Kutina said her eldest son tragically died in a road accident in Goa last year and officials have said her second son, who is 11, is currently in Russia.

And to further add to the mystery, the young girls' father, Israeli businessman Dror Goldstein, told NDTV that Kutina had allegedly left Goa with his daughters without telling him, so he filed a missing complaint with the police.