On early Wednesday morning, a local fisherman had spotted a body on the banks of Netravati river suspecting it of Siddhartha's following which he informed authorities.
Founder of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), one of India's most popular coffee chain, VG Siddhartha who was missing since Monday, body was found on early Wednesday morning in the Netravati river in Dakshina, Mangaluru.
On early Wednesday morning, a local fisherman had spotted a body on the banks of Netravati river suspecting it of Siddhartha's following which he informed authorities who were carrying the search operation. As soon as the fisherman informed authorities, a search team was sent to the site which recovered the body.
Mangalore Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil confirmed that further investigation will be carried out in the case of CCD founder-owner VG Siddhartha who disappeared during a walk at Netravati bridge while asserting that the family members have been informed about recovering of a body.
"We have found the body in the early morning. It needs to be identified, we have already informed family members, for further, we are shifting the body to Wenlock hospital. We will continue the further investigation", he said.
The 58-year-old VG Siddhartha was reported missing mysteriously since Monday night when he was en route to Mangaluru. He was last seen on the Ullal bridge over the Netravati river.
Meanwhile, Coffee Day Enterprise held a board meeting earlier in the day and appointed independent director SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the company and Nitin Bagmane as an interim chief operating officer (COO) of the company.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
1. Coffee Day appoints SV Ranganath, vows to probe Siddhartha's purported letter
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Coffee Day Enterprises on Wednesday appointed SV Ranganath as the interim Chairman of its board after the body of founder-owner VG Siddhartha was found on the banks of Netravati river in Mangaluru.
The board also appointed Nitin Bagmane as the interim Chief Operating Officer. It constituted a 3-member executive committee comprising of Ranganath, Bagmane and Chief Financial Officer R Ram Mohan to exercise the powers previously vested with the CEO.
Further, taking cognizance of the statements in the purported letter from Siddhartha relating to financial transactions outside the knowledge of the senior management, auditors and board, the board of directors resolved to thoroughly investigate the matter.
"While the authenticity of the letter is unverified and it is unclear whether these statements pertain to the company or personal holdings of VG Siddhartha, the board took serious note of the same and resolved to thoroughly investigate the matter," it said in a statement.
"The board remains deeply committed to safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders including investors, lenders, employees and customers."
The board said the audit committee and the executive committee will engage in discussions with the statutory auditors of the company to recommend appropriate next steps at the board meeting on August 8.
The board appointed Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as its legal counsel to advise on foregoing and related matters.
Following a massive search operation involving multiple agencies, the body of Siddhartha was found on the banks of Netravati River near Hoige Bazaar in Mangaluru. The 58-year-old businessman, son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, was missing since Monday evening.
"The board noted with profound regrets the tragic demise of Siddhartha and his matchless energy, vision and business acumen which helped to single-handedly build the company," said the statement.
The board expressed its condolences to Siddhartha's family and resolved to lend its support and expressed full confidence in the company's management team.
"The board also took note of a message from Malavika Hegde expressing support and trust in the company's professional team and the common effort to look after the interest of the employees and all other stakeholders," said the statement.
2. VG Siddhartha's body found after 36 hours of intense search
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Coffee Day's owner VG Siddhartha's body has been found in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka after 36 hours of intense search, officials said.
A massive search operation was carried out by the Karnataka police with more than 200 officials and divers on about 25 boats to trace Siddhartha since Tuesday. Sniffer dogs were also pressed into service by the agencies.
The body had washed ashore near Ullal and was fished out by local fishermen. Mangalore MLA UT Khader said friends and relatives have confirmed that the body is of Siddhartha.
Earlier, police said the body, which appeared to be of Siddhartha, was yet to be identified by his family.
Mangalore Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said the body has been kept at Wenlock Hospital for further formalities.
Siddhartha, the founder of India's largest coffee chain, went missing mysteriously on Monday night en route to the coastal city of Mangaluru.
Teams of National Disaster Response Force, Coast Guard, Home Guard, fire services and coastal police scoured the waters under a bridge across the swollen Nethravathi river, where the 60-year old was reportedly last seen, to trace the coffee tycoon.
Siddhartha, also the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader SM Krishna, was last seen near the bridge in Kotepura area on Monday night, police said. (AFP)
3. Siddhartha was upset regarding 'Income Tax torture': MLA Rajegowda
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Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) owner VG Siddhartha, whose body was found on the banks of Netravati River early morning on Wednesday near Hoige Bazaar, was little upset regarding the "Income Tax torture", claimed his close associate and Sringeri MLA TD Rajegowda.
"He was a close family friend of mine, for the last 40 years we have been close associates. Four-five days back he was little upset about the Income Tax torture. He also wanted to sell some of his properties to settle the debts as he had more assets than liabilities. Had he not been troubled, he would have survived," said Rajegowda.
"He worked for the economy of the country as well as Karnataka. He gave jobs to 30-50 thousand people who are from villages and also to the poor," he added. (Photo: ANI)
4. Watch: DV Sadananda Gowda says 'Siddhartha was not too weak to commit suicide'
5. 'Failed as an entrepreneur': Siddhartha had alleged harassment by Income Tax officials
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Karnataka-based businessman, son-in-law of former state chief minister SM Krishna and chairman & managing director of India's popular coffee chain, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), VG Siddhartha was missing since Monday evening.
Ever since Coffee Day chairman VG Siddhartha missing reports had surfaced, the shares of Coffee Day Enterprises have tanked 20 percent and hit the lower circuit limit as well as 52-week low of Rs 154.05 apiece on BSE.
The owner of India's largest coffee chain in a letter written by him to the board of Cafe Coffee Day on July 29 which had surfaced after he had gone missing said that he "failed as an entrepreneur".
"I gave up as I couldn't take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buyback shares, a transaction I had partially completed six months ago by borrowing a large sum of money from a friend." Take a look at Siddhartha's letter:
Alleging harassment by tax sleuths, Siddhartha in his letter claimed, "There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG Income Tax in the form of attache our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us. This was very unfair and has lead to a serious liquidity crunch."
6. Income Tax department denied harassment charges by Siddhartha
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After Siddhartha made claims of alleged harassment by income tax officials in his letter which appeared after he went missing on Monday, the income tax department denied the charges during its probe against Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) promoter VG Siddhartha as it pointed out that his signature available with it was different from that on a letter being widely published on social media.
The tax department said the businessman had admitted holding stash income after raids were conducted against him and his concerns.
In the unverified letter, Siddhartha, whose body was found on Wednesday morning, had said there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG of the Income Tax Department in the form of attaching "our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although revised returns have been filed by us (sic)".
"This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch," the letter, bearing a purported signature of Siddhartha, said.
Refuting the charges, the department said in a statement issued in Bengaluru that the provisional attachment of shares was made by the department to protect the "interests of revenue", a norm in cases of large tax evasion, and the action was based on "credible evidence" gathered in the search action that was undertaken against the Bengaluru-based group in 2017.
"The department has acted as per provisions of the Income Tax Act," it said.
The CCD promoter is the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader SM Krishna and was last seen near a bridge on Netravati river in Kotepura area in Dakshina Kannada district on Monday night.
Authorities had launched a massive search operation for him.
7. 'Does not tally' with our records: I-T department on Siddhartha's signature in viral letter
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Income Tax raised eyebrows on the authenticity of the note circulating on social media and said it cannot be vouched for as Siddhartha's signature "does not tally" with what is available with the department in the form of annual reports of the company, it said.
8. Coffee Day owner Siddhartha sold 20% stake in Mindtree to L&T
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VG Siddhartha, who was also on board for GTV, Mindtree, Liqwid Krystal, Way2Wealth and Ittiam had sold 20 percent stake in Mindtree to Larsen & Toubro recently through block deal for about Rs 3,210 crore.
Even after Mindtree management approached Siddhartha not to sell the stake to Larsen & Toubro, it failed to convince the Coffee Day owner.
In his letter which surfaced after he went missing on Monday, Siddhartha had mentioned, "There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG Income Tax in the form of attaching our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us. This was very unfair and has lead to a serious liquidity crunch."
However, in a statement, the Income Tax department said Siddhartha fetched Rs 3,200 crore from the sale of Mindtree shares, but paid only Rs 46 crore out of the total Rs 300 crore minimum alternate tax (MAT) payable on the deal.
Mindtree Limited — is an Indian multinational IT and outsourcing company — with its headquartered in Bengaluru and New Jersey, USA. The company is owned by Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
9. Coffee Day MD VG Siddhartha had unaccounted money
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The raids against the group were carried out as a result of a similar action against a prominent Karnataka politician and VG Siddhartha, in a sworn statement, "admitted" unaccounted income of Rs 362.11 crore and Rs 118.02 crore in his hands and that of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd respectively, it said.
A Singaporean citizen was searched in this case and he was found with unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore and the person told tax officials that it belonged to Siddhartha, the department claimed.
It alleged that the CCD promoter filed his IT returns but "did not" mention the undisclosed income, as admitted in the sworn statement, in both the cases except an amount of around Rs 35 crore in his individual case.
"Even on this admitted sum, Coffee DAY Global Ltd has not paid the self-assessment tax of Rs 14.5 crore on the returned income. Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd did not offer the admitted income in its part," it said.
10. Siddhartha opened first CCD in 1996 in Bengaluru
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VG Siddhartha opened the first outlet of his coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) on July 11, 1996 in Bengaluru at Brigade Road.
Born in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka, VG Siddhartha's family has been into coffee plantation business for over 140 years. Siddhartha went to Mangalore University to earn a Master's degree and later worked with JM Financial Limited in Mumbai from 1983-1984 as a management trainee. His profile was Portfolio Management and securities trading.
Siddhartha later returned to Bengaluru and opened a company called Sivan Securities later known as Way2wealth Securities Ltd. This company's venture capital division further came to be known as Global Technology Ventures (GTV).
After returning to Bengaluru, Siddhartha also managed to buy a stock market card for Rs 30,000.
Excelling in his coffee business, Siddhartha by 1985 became the owner of 10,000 acres of coffee farms.
Reports say he doubled the money which he invested in coffee plantations after economic liberalisation in coffee trading in 1990.
With a rise in its popularity, Cafe Coffee Day became India's largest coffee chain having around 1,700 cafes, 48,000 vending machines, 532 kiosks and 403 ground coffee selling outlets across the country.
11. Siddhartha's last rites to take place at his father's estate in Belur
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The last rites of CCD owner VG Siddhartha, whose body was found on the banks of Netravati River near Hoige Bazaar today, will take place at his father's estate in Belur, said his close aide Sringeri MLA TD Rajegowda.
"The family members have all decided that cremation will take place at his father's estate in Belur Taluk," said Rajegowda.
