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New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Husband of Russian woman found living in cave urges Karnataka HC to stop deportation of his children
BENGALURU: Dror Shlomo Goldstein, estranged husband of Russian woman Nina Kutina who was rescued with her two minor children from a cave near Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to the Centre not to proceed with the deportation of his minor daughters to any other country. Goldstein, an Israeli national presently residing in Bengaluru, through his counsel, made a submission before the court that sudden deportation would render the relief sought in the petition infructuous. Therefore, it is necessary to pass an interim order staying deportation, he said. However, Arvind Kamath, Additional Solicitor General of India, appearing for the Indian government and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), submitted that Ama Kutina does not possess any travel documents. In light of this, for the present, the apprehension of Goldstein regarding deportation is not reasonable, he said. The question of deportation would be considered only after any stand is taken regarding travel documents of Ama Kutina, Kamath told the court.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Two Nigerian nationals held
Two Nigerian nationals were arrested by the Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) on suspicion of involvement in drug-peddling, and the authorities have initiated deportation proceedings against them in coordination with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). The duo, identified as Aful Clement alias Aful David, 29, and Lazarus Chinwenmeri Favour, 19, were detained from Tolichowki. According to the police, both individuals failed to provide satisfactory explanations when questioned, and were found to be in India under questionable circumstances. While no narcotic substances were seized from them at the time of apprehension, further investigation revealed that Aful Clement has been overstaying in India, while his visa expired in 2019. He was earlier arrested by Chandigarh police in a cheating case in 2022 and served six months in Model Jail, Chandigarh. After securing bail, he remained in the country without any documented occupation and eventually shifted to Bengaluru, and later Hyderabad, allegedly to engage in drug distribution. His associate, Lazarus Chinwenmeri Favour, entered India on a student visa for a science and technology course. The police said he was found to be associated with drug peddlers.
The Print
7 days ago
- The Print
Russian woman rescued from Karnataka cave wants to go back to forest—‘feeling of special happiness'
She is also concerned about initial media reports on their life projecting her in a way that has angered Russian society. Kutina also said she does not think it is safe for her to go back to Russia, and requested the Indian government not to deport her. 'I have concerns about how safe it is for our family to return to our homeland now. In connection with the ongoing military actions as far as I have seen, activists who write, think and speak out for peace are not safe,' she told ThePrint in a conversation over WhatsApp. Mumbai: Nina Kutina, 40-year-old Russian woman who Karnataka police found on 11 July living in a cave in a forested area along with her two daughters, told ThePrint that she did not want to be rescued, and urged the Indian government to allow her and her family permission to go back to their life in the jungle. 'The lies told by the police about us to the newspapers, exaggerated and embellished, spread throughout the world forced Russian society to react with anger and accusations. Reading all this, any person will understand that only madmen would dare to fly there now to be torn apart by those who have already condemned and sentenced us,' she said. Adding, 'Therefore, I ask the Indian Government to make an exception for us and allow us to officially live in the jungles of India and continue to pass on our unique experience and knowledge to all the people of the world, instead of sending us to possible death. Or give us permission to fly out, allowing us to fly in any direction we choose. And allow us to wait for the preparation of our new documents in conditions acceptable for life.' Kutina said she has lived in Indian forests twice before this for considerable durations but never encountered a police team. She, along with her two daughters, was found by the Karnataka police living in a cave in the Ramatirtha Hills in the coastal town of Gokarna, where they had been living in complete isolation. The team that was out on patrol got curious when they saw a sari hanging in a forest cave. On following the trail, they first found the two children and then their mother. Fearing the risks of wild animals, the team removed the three from the forest and took them to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) detention centre. But Kutina insisted that she did not want to be rescued from the cave. Living with snakes and animals and among the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in the jungle was where she and her daughters were most comfortable, and it is in cities and among people that they feel unsafe, she said. The police found her passport near the cave itself, and deportation proceedings are underway to send her back to Russia. Kutina claimed the documents that have been found are her older passports and they suggest her overstay period in India is much longer than it actually is. As things stand, there is no clear direction on where she would go. Though it is likely she might be sent back to her home country. The future of her daughters is even more uncertain as their father, Israeli citizen Dror Goldstein, has demanded shared custody. Also Read: Russian woman, kids found living in cave sent to restriction centre, deportation after embassy's nod Fond of forests A student of Russian language and literature, philology and design in Russia, Kutina was moved by different religious philosophies like Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, which she often references. She said she has been practising Bhakti yoga for nine years. Kutina first came to India alone, in 2016. Her then Russian partner Andrew Lebedev, with whom she had her first two children, joined her later. The couple moved to a forest in Arambol in Goa in 2017 and stayed there for nine months. Her motivation, at least partly, was spiritual. Kutina and Lebedev first met in Russia in 2011 and they liked travelling to challenging places. They traveled to the Black Sea coast and Carpathian mountains in 2011. They kept travelling before Lebedev decided to go back to Moscow at some point. Kutina continued to travel. When she came to Goa in 2016, Lebedev joined her again. ThePrint also reached Lebedev on WhatsApp. 'I fell in love with the place. The girls were not born yet. The elder son was 13 and the younger was 3. We decided to live in the forest for several months. I believe they still remember us there,' he said. Like Kutina, Lebedev too was fascinated by the idea of living in the midst of nature. During this experience in the forests, they faced some initial challenges like how to light a fire in the monsoon. But Kutina said living in the forest in Goa was not a reckless idea, having visited and stayed in forests in different countries before that. But the forest life in Arambol was transformative and one of the 'happiest times' of her life, she said. 'We learnt all sorts of tricks to survive. One was to use fire in the high humidity. We also deeply understood the importance of preparing dry firewood for the entire duration of the rains which protected us from bacteria and ants,' she said. However, Lebedev and Nina parted ways soon. 'We lived together in Goa. But in a while a somewhat difficult period of our relationship began. Although life there was wonderful, especially when the rains began and the jungle blossomed, we still had a fight. And I decided that it was better to distance myself for now. I still don't know whether I did it right or wrong. I left. Then Nina wandered. And she met Dror, and I met a woman who gave me a daughter. In fact, then Nina and I separated, we had new families. But we always kept in touch,' Lebedev said. Kutina moved out of India in 2017 as her visa expired. She then travelled to multiple countries including Nepal, Ukraine and Costa Rica where she shared her experience with her friends. But she longed for time in the forests of India and returned again in 2020. She returned to the Arambol forests in Goa again during the pandemic for a full year—this time with her younger son Luchezar (6) and her two daughters, Prema Sai (1) and Ama (3 months). She also shot a documentary about her life in the forest. 'We lived on food from the neighbouring village and whatever grew in the forest like jackfruit and coconut palm. We slept on the clay floor. I want to share this very special experience with the world,' she told ThePrint. When the lockdown ended, she realised it was time to renew her visa. On being asked why she did not, she said, 'I started losing people close to me and before I could recover, I lost my eldest son (from Andrew) in a bike accident in Goa. He was living in Goa by himself.' Her decision to stay in forests in Gokarna (Karnataka) for some time was influenced by his death. 'I needed to survive the death of my son. And my children and I chose a very spiritual place to live there for several months in nature, in harmony with it and accept what happened.' She was now settling in a routine life in the jungle. 'Often we get up together with the sun. We tidied up after sleep, washed ourselves, cooked, ate. Then we washed dishes and drew paintings. We sculpted from clay, sang or wrote. Some days we went to swim at the waterfall. Sometimes we walked to the plateau or village as desired,' she said. Living in a cave did not mean that they were completely cut off from the world outside. Kutina spent some time with her phone every day, catching up with friends and family. The children too watched cartoons and went to the bed right as the sun set. 'This is one of the feelings of a special happiness—a combination of fresh natural air, silence and the absence of electric light, which never happens in the village or in the city. We prepare clean linen, light oil lamps and incense sticks. We hug and tell each other how much we love each other. And we thank God, each other and everyone for the fact that we have such a wonderful life,' she said. Kutina said she wants to go back to that life. 'More than anything in the world, we want there to be peace on the earth and for people to stop destroying the planet they live on…and understand this world and live with it in harmony, realising themselves as a part of all this, and not as the owner.' (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Karnataka govt's online betting ban draft bill skipped consultations with IT dept
Indian Express
20-07-2025
- Indian Express
Afghan national, a PU graduate, held for overstaying his visa, possessing forged Indian documents: Chandigarh Police
A 37-year-old Afghan national was arrested under the Foreigners Act for overstaying in India illegally and possessing forged Indian identity documents, the Chandigarh Police said on Saturday. A team of the Mauli Jagran police station arrested the accused, Mohammad Rasool Barak, a native of Kandahar in Afghanistan. Police said Barak entered India on a student visa in 2015 and pursued graduation from Panjab University, adding that his visa expired in 2018, but he never renewed it thereafter. However, he continued to live in India 'as a refugee and took up work as a taxi driver, clearly violating visa conditions that prohibit foreign students from engaging in any form of employment', police said. A case was registered following the complaint of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Amritsar, which stated that the accused had 'not only overstayed his visa but had also illegally procured Indian documents by falsely claiming Indian nationality'. In his application for a learner's licence, Barak had falsely mentioned his place of birth as Chandigarh, India, despite being born in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on August 13, 1988, police said, adding this act of 'providing false information and obtaining government-issued Indian documents is a serious national security concern'. His Indian documents were also verified and confirmed to be illegally obtained, and relevant sections of the law have been invoked accordingly, police said. During the investigation, the accused was arrested on July 19 in Mauli Jagran and produced before the court, which remanded him to a 14-day judicial custody.
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana HC directs Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to decide PIO's petition to remove India entry ban
Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has directed the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) office in Hyderabad to take action on a plea by a Hyderabad-born Canadian citizen to lift the ban on her entry into India. The petitioner, a doctor, was placed on a blacklist by Indian immigration authorities after it was found she had obtained an Indian passport by allegedly suppressing her Canadian nationality. Justice NV Shravan Kumar directed the FRRO to review the representation in view of the urgency on personal grounds claimed by the petitioner. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad The petitioner had obtained an Indian passport in 2021, claiming to be a resident of Hyderabad. But authorities found that she was a Canadian citizen since Sept 2003 and had obtained a Canadian passport in Jan 2021. Since she had obtained the Indian passport by suppressing information about her nationality, which is an offence, she was directed to surrender it immediately at the Regional Passport Office, Bengaluru. Accordingly, she surrendered the passport and a surrender certificate was issued to her in July 2021. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Providers are furious: Internet access without a subscription! Techno Mag Learn More Undo The doctor said she approached the court after authorities did not respond to her email sent on April 2025, urging them to lift the ban on her entry. When the matter came up for hearing, the FRRO sought multiple adjournments on the grounds that it was yet to get instructions. During the final hearing, when the Foreigners Regional Registration Office sought more time, the HC directed it to consider her email and pass orders at the earliest.
