Family, friends bid farewell to V G Siddhartha, the coffee tycoon

The worst fears came true on Wednesday morning when local fishermen found V G Siddhartha, founder of Café Coffee Day, floating in Netravati river, some distance away from the Mangaluru bridge where he was seen last some on Monday night. The coffee tycoon had gone missing Monday evening, after which a massive search operation was launched.

In a note purportedly written by him, Siddhartha had mentioned pressure from business partners and harassment by tax authorities. “I fought for a long time but today I gave up as I could not take any more pressure….’’
Crowds thronged to pay homage to the billionaire entrepreneur at the Wenlock Hospital in Chikkamagaluru, where his body was taken for post-mortem at 8.30 am. The body was taken to Cheekanahalli village (near Chikkamagaluru), where his parents live, and then to the office premises of Amalgamated Bean Coffee, the parent company of CCD, for public viewing.
A voluntary bandh was observed across Chikkamagaluru as commercial establishments shut down in a mark of respect for the business leader. At around 5 pm, the body was moved back to his native village—Cheekanahalli—where the final rites were performed. Read More

Article Source -> Business Standard