VG Siddhartha, founder of Café Coffee Day, found dead on Netravathi riverbank after going missing 

VG Siddhartha.

New Delhi: The frantic search for missing Café Coffee Day founder-owner VG Siddhartha has been come to a tragic end. The lifeless body of Siddhartha was found on Netravathi riverbank on early Wednesday morning. According to media reports, the body was first discovered by a fisherman, which had washed ashore near Ullal in Mangaluru. He is presumed to have committed suicide.

According to reports, Siddhartha’s family members have positively identified his body and his cremation is likely to be held on Wednesday.

Siddhartha’s driver, Basavraj Patil, had reported a missing complaint, on Monday evening. He was the last person to see Siddhartha, who asked him to drop him on the bridge as he wanted to take a walk. He had also asked Patil to park the car further ahead. When he didn’t return after 30 minutes of so, he called Siddhartha’s mobile, which was switched off. Then he reported the incident to the police.

Siddhartha was the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister and later foreign minister SM Krishna. A massive search operation was conducted by the police along with the teams of National Disaster Response Force, Coast Guard, Home Guard, fire services and coastal police after he was reported missing.

Before going missing, Siddhartha had written a letter to CCD family describing how he was under tremendous pressure from lenders and how it was getting difficult for him to continue under the prevailing conditions. He purportedly had written about the harassment he is undergoing from income-tax officials and also apologized for letting down all the people that put their trust in him.

The letter, which was made public on Tuesday, mentioned the pressure from a private equity player o buy-back its holdings in Coffee Day Enterprises. Café Coffee Day, country’s biggest coffee chain was under debt of Rs 4,500 crore, according to an Indian Express report.

Outrage on social media 

After the news of VG Siddharth’s missing and subsequent death broke, many Indians vented their anger on the government for what they called “tax terrorism” by the government and harassment by I-T department.

Agree with @TVMohandasPai on our broken Tax Justice System. Angel Tax almost killed our start-up ecosystem & honest tax payers get generic IT notices every year.@IncomeTaxIndia Please use DATA & AI to find Tax Evaders and to spare the Honest Tax Payers. @FinMinIndia@PMOIndia https://t.co/24i2V2ELs7

— RK Misra (@rk_misra) July 31, 2019

I did not know him & have no knowledge of his financial circumstances. I only know that entrepreneurs must not allow business failure to destroy their self-esteem. That will bring about the death of entrepreneurship. https://t.co/H4ysr8Ov3U

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 30, 2019

Forget about dealing with markets/suppliers/customers/investors/employees/stake holders. Managing the systematic harassment by the State n it’s pliant agencies is the biggest challenge. IT, ED, CBI, ROC etc are the biggest impediments for ease of business https://t.co/3KOpweDDbC

— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) July 31, 2019

I am indirectly related to VG Siddhartha. Excellent human and brilliant entrepreneur. I am devastated with the contents of his letter. The Govt Agencies and Banks can drive anyone to despair. See what they are doing to me despite offer of full repayment. Vicious and unrelenting.

— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) July 30, 2019

As terrible as #VGSiddhartha's news is, its also a reminder to the #TaxTerrorism that's pushing businessmen towards drastic decisions. pic.twitter.com/nxcJU3NIfQ

— Anuraag Saxena (@anuraag_saxena) July 30, 2019

#RIPSiddhartha your demise brings light into a whole new perspective of tax terrorism. You will always be remembered through your first-of-a-kind ventures in India. https://t.co/MiJbuSAZsj

— Sharavan Kumar (@TheSharavan) July 31, 2019

Former Infosys director, Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) speaks to @fayedsouza about #VGSiddhartha's suicide. Says, 'The tax justice system is broken in India. We must request to our PM & FM to intervene & stand-up for us to show that they're there to protect honest taxpayers'. (2) pic.twitter.com/CZWD1YLQml

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) July 31, 2019

Sir you are not failed entrepreneur.
You are failed by our poor and ill system.#CCDMemories
#RIPSiddhartha pic.twitter.com/7rSfCdXU9K

— Ashu P. Kumar (@ImAsk007) July 31, 2019

A must read!#RIPSiddhartha #CafeCoffeeDay pic.twitter.com/blzSKDKtUh

— Atika (@AtikaJain10) July 31, 2019

Heart-wrenching
Exemplary example of new age Indian entrepreneurship.

Provided 30,000+ jobs, played cupid for millions of couples.

What the world has come to, even a god-send angel has to commit suicide to find his way out of legal mazes.#RIPSiddhartha pic.twitter.com/iutQwzVZls

— VC (@VedangChauhan) July 31, 2019

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