CCD founder Siddhartha dead: Body recovered from Netravati River
What's the story
The body of CCD owner-founder VG Siddhartha, who had gone missing on Monday evening, was found on Wednesday, reports said. Siddhartha, who is also the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, was last seen by his driver on a bridge over Netravati river in Mangaluru. Police had launched a massive search operation to look for him. Here are more details.
Context
Backstory: Siddhartha asked driver to stop car, went missing
On Monday, Siddhartha left from Bengaluru saying he was going to Sakleshpur but asked his driver, Basavaraj Patil, to go to Mangaluru instead. As they were crossing National Highway 66, he asked Patil to stop the vehicle and got down from the Toyota Innova car. When Siddhartha didn't return after almost an hour, his driver got worried and informed others.
Details
After hours of massive operation, Siddhartha's body was found
Subsequently, a search operation was launched, wherein police took the help of locals too. Reportedly, Siddhartha's body was found on the banks of Netravati River near Hoige Bazaar in Mangaluru. On the latest development, Sasikanth Senthil, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, told PTI, "A body has been found which appears to be of Cafe Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha."
Businessman
Siddhartha created CCD, introduced India to cafe culture
Siddhartha, who was popularly known as "Coffee King", started CCD in the 90s. Belonging to a family of coffee plantation owners, he started his career with investment banking. He is credited for redefining coffee business in the country. Not restricting himself to "beans", Siddhartha also invested in Bengaluru-based IT firm Mindtree. Earlier this year, he sold his entire shares (close to 21%) to L&T.
Letter
In last letter, Siddhartha said he failed as an entrepreneur
However, in the last couple of years, Siddhartha's marvelous career took a nosedive as debts kept on increasing. He spoke about the problems which he was facing in a letter, which he reportedly wrote to the CCD family. Siddhartha lamented that even after 37 years of commitment, he failed to create a business model which would work. "I failed as an entrepreneur," he wrote.
Quote
Siddhartha hoped he would be forgiven one day
"I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me. I have enclosed a list of our assets and a tentative value of each asset. As seen below our assets outweigh our liabilities and can help repay everybody," Siddhartha added in the letter.