Finally, after nine days of intense search, the body of the son of former Chennai Mayor Saidhai Duraisamy has been recovered from the Satluj river in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The retrieval was made at around 2 pm on Monday - February 12 from the river where Saidhai Duraisamy's son Vetri Duraisamy drowned off days ago.  

Vetri Duraisamy was missing since February 4 when the car he was travelling from Spiti towards Shimla met with an accident near Kashang Nullah in Kinnaur at around 1.30 pm. The accident had shocked Saidhai Duraisamy and his family and he appealed to expedite the search operations to rescue his son. However, as days passed, it was reported that Vetri Duraisamy could have died, prompting a search for his mortal remains. 

Amidst the search, Saidhai Duraisamy, who is an ADMK functionary, announced that he would give Rs 1 crore as a reward for any information about his missing son. For days, there were no positive developments and several teams were deployed to strengthen the search. The officials had also taken the blood samples of Saidhai Duraiswamy and family to carry out a DNA test on a brain that they have retrieved from the river. 

After nine days of search, Vetri Duraisamy's body was recovered on Monday. According to reports, 45-year-old Vetri Duraisamy and 32-year-old Gopinath had come to visit Spiti valley in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh and both were returning from Spiti towards Shimla in an Innova Car on February 4. The car was driven by Tenzin, a resident of Tabo in Spiti Sub division. 

When the car reached Kashang Nullah, it had lost control and fallen into Sutlej river. While Gopinath had suffered serious injuries, Vetri Duraisamy was missing. Notably, Tenzin, who drove the car, had died and his body was recovered after a few hours of search. Gopinath was taken to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla for further treatments. 

The police had on February 4 registered an FIR under sections 279, 337, and 304A of IPC and launched a probe. The efforts to find Vetri Duraisamy got intensifed and several measures, including drones, were used to locate his body. During a search operation on Monday, Vetri Duraisamy's body was recovered from Satluj river, about three kilometers from where he fell off. The body has been taken to Shimla and will be handed over to the family after perfoming an autopsy. It is pertinent to note that Vetri Duraisamy has also directed a Tamil movie 'Endraavathu Oru Naal'.