Shirur: The truck lay buried in the river bed for seventy-two days. Intensive search operations yielded nothing. When it was finally lifted from the depths along with a body suspected to be of Kozhikode native Arjun, the truck owner, Manaf, was overcome with emotions. "I don't want the truck. I just want to bring him back to his family, as I promised them."
He had been at the site throughout the search operations, unmindful of the rough weather. He even had a bitter run-in with a senior police official. He was also slammed for his insistence on search as it was said that he did so to get back his truck and for publicity. Through all these, Manaf remained hopeful of finding Arjun's mortal remains.
"Arjun always trusted me. I have to honour that. His family also believed in me. Now, I must keep my word to his father and bring him home," Manaf said, his voice heavy with emotion. After dropping him off and completing the formalities as quickly as possible, he must be taken home," Manaf added. The body was shifted from the spot, and its identity will be confirmed only after a DNA test.
Earlier searches using a dredger had recovered parts of the truck, including a crushed engine, a crash guard, and a mudguard. The cabin where the body was found was located at 'contact point 2', one of four designated search areas. A Goa-based private dredging firm was given a quotation for the dredging work, which the Karnataka government was forced to sanction, considering the adverse conditions in the river.
Arjun and two others went missing on July 16 after a massive landslide struck National Highway 66 near Shirur, Ankola, Karnataka. Since then, the Karnataka government has launched intensive search operations with significant support from its Kerala counterpart.
