CCD founder VG Siddhartha missing, told driver he’d walk near Mangaluru bridge

VG Siddhartha’s driver told the police that they were entering the city when he told him to take the car to the bridge.

VG Siddhartha, the founder of Café Coffee Day chain, has gone missing on the outskirts of Mangaluru, 350 km from Karnataka capital Bengaluru, on Monday. Siddhartha’s driver told the police that they were entering the city when he told him to take the car to the bridge.

VG Siddhartha, chairman of Coffee Day Enterprises that runs Cafe Coffee Day outlets. Photo by Priyanka Parashar/Mint (Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint)

Siddhartha is also the son-in-law of former foreign minister SM Krishna who had joined the BJP a few days ago. Police said Siddhartha asked his driver to stop his car, before setting out on foot. The driver informed the family when Siddhartha didn’t return after an hour.

“He asked me to be at the end of the bridge and said he’d walk,” Siddhartha’s driver Basavaraj Patil has told the police. Siddhartha was reported missing from Jappinamogaru, which is very close to Netravathi river and just two to three kilometres from the sea.

Watch: When CCD Founder V.G. Siddhartha described his ambitions

Mangaluru police commissioner Sandeep Patil told reporters that the driver alerted the family when there was no sight of Siddhartha after an hour. The police have deployed divers and inflatable boats to look for him in Ullal area of Mangaluru.

As his disappearance was reported, shares of his company Coffee Day Enterprises slumped as much as 20%. In a stock exchange filing, the company said its leadership team will “ensure continuity of business”.

A letter that VG Siddhartha had written to his company’s board of directors on Saturday also emerged. In this, Siddhartha detailed the troubles that he had faced in recent months including some from lenders, equity partners and the income tax department.

“My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur. This is my sincere submission. I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me,” the letter said.

Siddhartha’s letter also referred to what he described as harassment by a senior tax department official.