Bengaluru: VG Siddhartha, the founder of the popular Cafe Coffee Day chain and son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, who went missing since Monday evening, is believed to have committed suicide.
The police have accessed a letter written by Siddhartha to the Board of Directors and his Coffee Day family in which he expressed his despair and anguish for "failing to create the right profitable business model" despite his "best efforts."
"I would like to say I gave it my all. I am very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me. I fought for a long time but today I gave up as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares, a transaction I had partially completed six months ago by borrowing a large sum of money from a friend," he wrote in the letter.
Hinting at huge stress, Siddhartha tells his staff: “I failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts. Faced financial pressure from lendrs, borrowed money. I never intended to cheat anyone.”
He also mentioned about the harassment he faced from a former Income Tax official, who he claims attached the company’s shares on two separate occasions ans blocked business deals.
Taking responsibility for all the transactions of the company, Siddhartha said that the company’s assets outweigh its liabilitiesand can help repay everybody.
"My team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me and only me accountable, as I have withheld this information from everybody including my family. My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur," he wrote.
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Siddhartha was last seen near Netravati river. He was travelling to Mangaluru in a car when he received a call and asked the driver to stop at the bridge.
The driver waited for the CCD owner for about half an hour when it started raining. But when Siddhartha didn’t show up even after the rain stopped, the driver called his owner and discovered that Siddhartha's phone was switched off.
He then alerted the family members who in turn informed the police.
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa paid a visit to SM Krishna’s residence in the morning to take stock of the situation. Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and BL Shankar also arrived at SM Krishna's residence. BJP's Shobha Karandlaje has also written to Union Minister Rajnath Singh and has asked help from the central government to trace Siddhartha.
Meanwhile, HD Kumaraswamy said that Siddhartha was a role model for young and blamed the income tax department for harassing him.
"When I heard the news this morning I was shocked. Officials are searching for the body. He gave life to many villagers. Siddhartha faced several challenges. He is a role model for youngsters. I met him for seven months back. He spoke about the income tax raids but didn't make any charges against anyone. But I saw his last letter in the media and it is surprising. Friends also told him to sell the assets but there are some issues with few depts," he said.
"The departments are harassing people. Don't know what they want. They are misusing their offices. Legal action is different. They are free to do anything but at the same time they have to give a free hand to people to come out of day-to-day difficulties. This isn't happening in this country now," he added.
The police have also intensified its search to find the businessman and have collected all the necessary details from the driver. The Dakshin Kannada police have initiated a search operation for VG Siddhartha near Netravati River in Mangaluru.
While boats have pressed into service to trace the body, sources further said that police has also not ruled out the angle of kidnap.
The news of Siddhartha's disappearance has spread like wildfire across Karnataka and hundreds of his relatives and friends have gathered at his father-in-law and former Karnataka CM SM Krishna's house in Bengaluru.
"We are taking the help of concerned authorities. Company is professionally managed and led by a competent leadership team, which will ensure continuity of business," said Coffee Day Enterprises.
Siddhartha is married to SM Krishna's first daughter Malavika. They have two sons. Besides Cafe Coffee Day, Siddhartha has founded a hospitality chain which runs a seven-star resort Serai and Cicada.
He sold his entire 20 per cent equity stake in Mindtree to Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro for Rs. 3,300 crore in March this year.