The body of VG Siddhartha, the founder-owner of Cafe Coffee Day, who was reported missing since Monday, was found on the banks of Netravati River in Mangaluru at 4.30 am Wednesday.
Siddhartha, the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna, disappeared following a drive to Mangaluru with his driver and was last seen on the bridge over the Netravati river on Monday evening.
The body had washed ashore near Ullal and was fished out by local fishermen, following which police reached the spot, news agency PTI reported. His body has been kept at Wenlock Hospital and has been identified by his friends.
Siddhartha had his last interaction with his driver Basavaraj Patil. In the latter's statement to the police, he said that they were heading towards Sakleshpur from Bengaluru in a Toyota Innova.
However, the CCD founder wanted the driver to turn towards Mangaluru. As the vehicle neared a bridge near Mangaluru, the businessman asked the driver to pull over. Siddhartha got down from the vehicle and asked Patil to drive towards the other end of the bridge and wait for him there.
As per a NDTV report, the driver said, "He said he will walk and come… At 8 pm (an hour later) I called him but his phone was (switched) off. Then I called his son and he said he'll call him too. Later I filed a complaint".
Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil said that investigation is underway, a dog squad has been used on the bridge. Local fishermen are also helping in the search going on in the river.
News agency ANI taking to Twitter posted a picture of a letter that Siddhartha reportedly wrote to the management and employees of the coffee chain, stating that he "failed as an entrepreneur".
