SHIRUR: Will raise Arjun’s son along with my own children, said Manaf, the lorry owner. While talking to a media, he said that from now on he has four children and will be with Arjun's parents as their son.

Manaf was in Shirur for 72 days to find Arjun. During my stay in Shirur, one encroached my firm and sold all the timber kept there, revealed Manaf. He thanked the people who stood with him to find Arjun.

‘I waited believing that he would be found alive. All the Malayalees were with us. From the beginning M K Raghavan MP, ministers from Kerala and the Karnataka Government were with us. Had promised Arjun's family that he would be brought back, but he is not alive. At least taking his body home is a sigh of relief. Two months have passed now. Would have waited on the river bank even it was for two years,’ said Manaf.

Arjun met with the accident on July 15 on his way from Belgaum to Edavanna carrying timber. He went missing on 16th. The search was inconclusive for several days due to adverse weather conditions and the inability to remove soil from the river. The search in Shirur was called off on August 16 due to adverse weather conditions.

The search resumed after Arjun's family met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and sought help. The dredger was brought to Shirur and a search was conducted due to this. When the search prolonged, the government intervened and gave his wife Krishnapriya a job as a clerk in Vengeri Cooperative Bank. Arjun has a one-year-old son, Ayan.