The mortal remains of Arjun, a native of Kerala who went missing in the Shirur landslide in Karnataka, are expected to be handed over to his family by Friday, September 27. Uttara Kannada District Collector Lakshmi Priya stated that DNA test results, taken from the body on Thursday, should be available within two days. Kerala Forest and Wildlife Minister A K Saseendran assured that the state government will cover all costs for transporting Arjun’s body home. Kozhikode District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh has been tasked with coordinating the necessary arrangements with authorities in Uttara Kannada.
Efforts to recover the truck involved in the incident continue. The truck cabin was found in the Gangavali River, and although an attempt was made to lift it using a crane, the operation had to be paused when the rope broke. The cabin is expected to be moved to the National Highway by Thursday morning. After 72 days of searching, the team successfully retrieved the lorry. Manaf, the truck owner, confirmed that Arjun was driving it at the time of the incident.
Authorities are still searching for the bodies of two other missing individuals, Lokesh and Jagannathan, both from Karnataka. Underwater search specialist Eshwar Malpe recently retrieved vehicle parts from the river, but neither Manaf nor Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf identified them as belonging to Arjun’s truck. Arjun had been missing since July 16, and although heavy rains previously halted the search, both the lorry and his body were eventually recovered when the search resumed.