Shirur: The truck belonging to Kozhikode native Arjun was recovered from the Gangavali River on Wednesday. The truck’s owner, Manaf, confirmed that the cabin lifted from the river was indeed from his truck, marking the end of a 72-day-long wait. According to Manaf, a body, which is suspected to be Arjun's, was also found inside the vehicle. Authorities are attempting to bring the cabin to the river bank for further examination. The remains were shifted to the dinghy boat. DNA testing will be conducted to confirm the identity of the remains found inside the truck.
The search team found the truck in one of the four points shortlisted. "Arjun had a belief in me. No matter what happened, I would be there. I have fulfilled my promise to the family. He must be brought back to his home. I don't need anything else. I am keeping the promise I made to his father. After completing the formalities as quickly as possible, he must be taken home," said Manaf in an emotional outburst.
"Everyone has received their answers with this," said Arjun's brother-in-law, Jithin. Jithin has been in Shirur ever since the search for Arjun began. "As far as the family is concerned, we were sure that Arjun would not return. But the main thing was to find some remains," said Jithin.
The search for three missing people, including Arjun, who disappeared after a massive landslide in Ankola's Shirur, Karnataka, resumed on Monday morning. During the search, a crash guard from Arjun's truck was recovered from the Gangavali River using a dredger machine. Manaf confirmed that the crash guard belonged to his truck. This was the first part of Arjun’s vehicle to be found in the river. Another metal object was also recovered.
Arjun, a truck driver, disappeared from the riverbank in Shirur following the landslide on July 16. Despite a 13-day search on land and water, no clues about Arjun's whereabouts were found. The Uttara Kannada district authorities confirmed that no signs of human presence were detected during the search using various devices. However, the search resumed after the Karnataka High Court ordered the state government to continue the efforts.
On Saturday, underwater search expert Eshwar Malpe recovered several vehicle parts, including tyres and a steering wheel, from the river. However, truck owner Manaf and Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf confirmed that none of these parts belonged to Arjun's vehicle.
