KOZHIKODE: After a 72-day-long search, the cabin belonging to the truck of Kozhikode native Arjun, who went missing following a devastating landslide at Shirur in Karnataka, was finally recovered from the Gangavali river on Wednesday. The truck’s owner, Manaf, confirmed that the cabin retrieved from the river belonged to his vehicle. Authorities confirmed that a decomposed body, believed to be of Arjun, was found inside the cabin, marking a significant development in the search effort. DNA testing will be conducted to confirm the identity of the remains.
Manaf expressed his emotional fulfillment after keeping his promise to Arjun’s family. “I told them I would bring him home, and I have done everything I could to make that happen,” Manaf said. The remains were carefully transferred onto a dinghy for further analysis onshore.
The cabin was located at one of the four targeted spots during an extensive search operation using dredging equipment. The search for Arjun and two other individuals — Lokesh and Jagannathan — who went missing after the landslide on July 16, resumed earlier this week. The first clue came when Arjun’s truck’s crash guard was found using a dredger in the river, which was the initial confirmation that the truck had sunk in the river. A subsequent inspection revealed additional metal fragments, further supporting the recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the search for the two other missing victims, Lokesh and Jagannathan, is set to continue. Karwar MLA Satish Krishna expressed his gratitude to the media for their constant attention and the pressure they applied, which he said played a pivotal role in the search efforts.
On the day of the recovery, SDRF personnel inspected the cabin and carefully retrieved the remains. The remains had suffered significant decomposition after spending over two months underwater. The truck, found at a depth of 12 m beneath the river’s surface, was removed during a rare lull in the river’s strong currents.
The tragedy unfolded on July 16, when a landslide struck Shirur at around 8:45 AM. A week later, radar detected signals of metal in the riverbed, believed to be parts of Arjun’s truck. Heavy rains and flooding, however, forced the suspension of the search for weeks, with efforts only resuming in mid-August.
On September 21, underwater search expert Eshwar Malpe discovered various vehicle parts, such as tires and a steering wheel, but none were confirmed to be from the lorry driven by Arjun. By September 22, Malpe concluded his search, after the administration and the district police chief asked him to discontinue his service citing protocol issues.
