Founder of Café Coffee Day, VG Siddhartha went missing yesterday after one spectator saw him jumped off a bridge near Mangaluru in Karnataka. He is the son-in-law of chief minister SM Krishna. Soon after the incident being reported by a spectator, a massive search operation team with coast guards and the National Disaster Response Force was put to work on Tuesday.
The last letter Siddhartha wrote revealed that he was in extreme debt and it was impairing his business as working capital requirements could not be met. It led him to sell his stakes in IT firm Mindtree that gave him some room to maneuver. The debt was for around 6547 crores.
After 36 hours, after he went missing, his body was found by two fishermen this early morning about 500 meters away from the road bridge from where he is alleged to jump into the river as stated by Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil to reporters.
Fishermen Ritesh 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.”
Anand Mahindra after hours before CCD founder Siddhartha’s body was found had a word of caution for entrepreneurs whose business may not have taken off. He tweets- “ I did not know him and have no knowledge of his financial circumstances. I only know that entrepreneurs must allow business failure to destroy their self-esteem. That will bring about the death of entrepreneurship.”
JDS chief and former prime minister HD Gowda said- “ I am shocked by the demise of VG Siddhartha. He was a very simple man. I knew him for the past 35 years. He had paved way for jobs for thousands of people. The government should properly investigate the cause of his tragic death.”
The tax department claimed that Siddhatha’s signature on the letter being circulated on the social media under his name “does not match” with the record available with the department.
