Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha Passed Away, the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, was found dead on Wednesday morning, 36 hours after he went missing from a bridge near Mangaluru in Karnataka. A massive search operation involving multiple agencies was on since Monday evening, when Mr. VG Siddhartha went missing. The body had washed ashore the Netravati river near Ullal in Mangaluru and was found by fishermen at around 6:30 in the morning.
“Two fishermen found VG Siddhartha body early this morning (Wednesday) about 500 meters away from the road bridge from where he is alleged to have jumped into the river on Monday night,” The Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil told reporters. “I saw a body floating while I was fishing and then, I informed the police. I participated in the rescue operations with the district administration yesterday as well,” fisherman Rithesh told reporters.
The Police sources said that the July 27 letter that Café Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha left behind and final conversations he had with a few staff members suggested he was not his usual self. “He told one staff member to look after the interests of the firm after clearing an outstanding loan. He seemed emotional. This was a bit out of character for the businessman,” sources said.
Café Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha Passed Away
Cafe Coffee Day, India’s biggest coffee chain, of late, was battling to repay its debt which topped almost Rs 4,500 crore. Though the group had raised debt from banks, mutual funds and NBFCs among others, Siddhartha’s letter to the board made public Tuesday also points to pressure from a private equity partner to buy-back its holdings in the Cafe Coffee Day Enterprises. It said the private equity partner exerted pressure on him and his businesses.