Search still on for CCD owner VG Siddhartha
- V.G.Siddhartha’s phone was switched off on Tuesday morning
- Siddhartha is the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister S.M.Krishna
Bengaluru: Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) owner V.G. Siddhartha was reported missing from close to Mangaluru on Tuesday. There have been reports of Siddhartha having thrown himself off a bridge into Nethravati River.
A complaint filed by Siddhartha's driver, Basavaraj Patil, in the early hours of Tuesday said the former had changed his plans to head towards Mangaluru after reaching Sakleshpur on Monday evening, the intended destination.
In his complaint, the driver said upon nearing Mangaluru, Siddhartha had asked him to take a left and move towards the site and continued on Kerala highway for about 3-4 km. While crossing a bridge, Siddhartha asked the driver to stop as he wanted to walk across. He then got out of the car and walked over to the driver and asked him to wait in the car for him and walked in the opposite direction towards Mangaluru.
At around 8 pm on Monday, the driver repeatedly called Siddhartha but the phone was switched off. Patil tried again before informing Siddhartha's son Amartya who then asked some local officials from his father's company to reach the spot.
The complaint was filed at 12.45 am in Kankanady police station on Tuesday.
Senior police officials in Mangaluru said coast guards, police and other agencies were helping in the search operations. The agencies have also included some locals in the operation.
“A person believed to be Siddhartha jumped off the bridge into the river. Search and rescue personnel have formed teams and are searching for the body," said an official from Kankanady police station in Mangaluru, about 350 km from Bengaluru.
Siddhartha is the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister S.M.Krishna.
Heavy rains over the few weeks have led to the river flowing in full spate, making it harder for rescue personnel to conduct search operations. Police began searching in the area after the complaint from Siddhartha's driver.
In March, Siddhartha garnered about Rs3,200 crore by selling his 20.32% stake in software services company Mindtree Ltd to Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), and two CCD affiliate firms (Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd and Coffee Day Trading Ltd). The deal helped Siddhartha repay his debt of about Rs2,900 crore, vastly improving his financial condition.
Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister B.S.Yediyurappa and other senior politicians met Krishna at his residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning.
Shares of both Coffee Day and Sical Logistics Ltd on Tuesday hit 20% lower circuit after reports of Siddhartha gone missing surfaced. At 9.20am, Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd traded at an all-time low of ₹154.05 on BSE, down 20% from its previous close. Sical Logistics Ltd slumped 20% to ₹72.80 -- a level last seen on 20 May, 2014.
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