Ex-husband seeks shared custody after Russian woman, kids found living in Gokarna cave

NT Correspondent

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 the daughters and left Goa a few months ago. "I managed to find them 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," said Goldstein to PTI Videos on Wednesday. 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 on a beach in Gokarna, but Kutina refused to let me be with my children as I don't live with them any more," 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 In dia 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 be ginning 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, Gold stein said he filed a miss ing 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 de ported," 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 iso lation for nearly three weeks before they were found.