K'taka landslide: Malayali rescue workers claim they were asked to vacate search area

Ankola (Karnataka): The search for Arjun, a lorry driver from Kozhikode who went missing after the landslide in Shiroor, continues on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Malayali rescue workers alleged that the district police chief in Karnataka asked them to leave the search area. 

Biju Kakkayam, a rescue worker, told Mathrubhumi News that the Superintendent of Police (SP) ordered everyone to stop their operations and return. Despite this directive, Biju said that the rescue team had nearly cleared the mud covering the area where the lorry could be found. 

It is suspected that the information coming out through media outlets may have prompted the police officials to take such action. Many people who came from Kerala on a rescue mission have been detained outside, and none of them have been allowed into the landslide site. Even taking pictures on mobile phones is prohibited. However, Biju Kakkayam noted that some channels from Karnataka are coming and filming visuals.

Following the police's instructions, there was an argument between the Malayali rescue workers and the police officials at the site. There is also a complaint that rescue worker Renjith Israel was manhandled by the police. Footage of the dispute has also surfaced.

Many Malayalis, including Biju Kakkayam, have reached the disaster site in Shiroor on a rescue mission over the past few days. Meanwhile, it has been alleged that this kind of approach from the Karnataka police is weakening the rescue efforts.