Mangaluru: Karnataka woke up to a massive shock Tuesday morning soon after news spread that V.G. Siddhartha, the founder of the iconic Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) chain – the Indian rival to Starbucks – and son-in-law of former chief minister S.M. Krishna, had gone missing near a bridge over the river Netravathi in Mangaluru, Monday evening.
Cafe Coffee Day founder goes missing from Nethravati bridge at ‘Suicide Point’, near Mangaluru on Monday. Over 200 rescuers, including Navy, Coast Guard, conduct search. Debts, equity partner, trigger?
Siddhartha is yet to be traced with a herculean search operation now being carried out by personnel of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, police and local fishermen in the swirling waters of the Netravathi. They are acting on the suspicion that Siddhartha may have taken his life by jumping into the river at a point, barely two kms from the sea, as a letter by him alluding to pressures from a PE investor to buy back shares have left many questions answered.
The National Disaster Response Force, home guards, fire department and the coastal police too are involved in this operation which is proving to be extremely difficult because of the rains and the fact that the river has a width of 1 km at the spot where Siddhartha was last seen before it enters the Arabian Sea.
