VG Siddhartha, the founder-owner of the famous chain of Cafe Coffe Day and son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, has gone missing from Mangaluru in Karnataka. As per the cops, he was last seen near Netravati River in Mangaluru.
The Mangaluru city police commissioner Sandeep Patil said that according to Siddhartha’s driver. the coffee baron yesterday left Bangalore saying he was heading towards Sakleshpur. However, on the way, he directed the driver to take him to Mangaluru. After reaching the Ullal bridge, he stepped out of his car and told his driver that he is going for a stroll.
The driver, after waiting for more than 90 minutes, called Siddhartha’s cell phone. Realising the number was switched off, the driver dialed the tycoon’s son who said that he would try to reach his father. Without any response, the driver filed a complaint to the cops.
A massive police search operation was launched on the morning of July 30 based upon the driver’s complaint and reports of a person who reportedly jumped off the bridge at around the same time Mr. Siddhartha went for a stroll.
Karnataka: VG Siddhartha, son-in-law of former CM SM Krishna and the founder-owner of Cafe Coffee Day, has gone missing near Netravati River in Mangaluru; Search operation underway. pic.twitter.com/qQf1H3xzAV
— ANI (@ANI) July 30, 2019
More than 200 police personnel including 25 swimmers have been roped in for the search operation. Mangaluru city police commissioner – Sandeep Patil who is overseeing the search operation, also said that the dog squad who were deployed to locate him stopped at the middle of the bridge.
Letter To The Board of Directors
Siddhartha in his last letter to the Board of Directors said that after 37 years of hard work and creating more than 50,000 jobs, he has failed to create the right profitable business model despite his best efforts. He said,” I have failed as an entrepreneur”.
He apologised for letting down people who have trusted him. In the letter, he mentioned that he had fought for a long time, but he could not take pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing him to buy back shares. He also highlighted a transaction that was partially completed six months ago after borrowing the large sum of money from a friend. He mentioned about the harassment he had faced by the previous DG, Income Tax in the form of attaching shares on two separate occasions to block the Mindtree deal and then taking possession of Coffee Day shares. The coffee baron has sold 20% equity stake in Midntree Ltd to the Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro for Rs 3,300 crore on 18 March 2019. In 2017, his offices were raided by income tax officers.
Below is the letter: 
Coffeed Day Enterprises shares dropped 20% to hit a low of Rs 154.05 on BSE. Siddhartha’s family has been in coffee-growing business for more than a century.
