CCD founder was upset about Income Tax torture: Srinegri MLA TD Rajegowda

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 allegedly upset about 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 upset about the Income Tax torture. 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 also wanted to sell some of his properties to settle the debts and had more assets than liabilities," he added.

Siddhartha also alleged that he was being harassed by the previous Directorate General, Income Tax which led to him facing a "liquidity crunch".

Following a massive search operation involving multiple agencies, the body of missing CCD founder-owner VG Siddhartha has been found on the banks of Netravati River near Hoige Bazaar in Mangaluru.

The 58-year-old businessman is the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna and has been missing since last evening from Mangaluru.

Siddhartha was spotted last Monday evening at the Netravati Bridge where he had gone for a stroll, Commissioner of Police, Mangalore, Sandeep Patil had said.

A massive search operation involving multiple teams of police forces along with the Coast Guard and NDRF was being carried out since Tuesday to locate Siddhartha. Police had also deployed the dog squads and inflatable boats in the search operation and roped in local fishermen to search the river.

A letter written by Siddhartha also surfaced on Tuesday in which he apologised to people who "put their trust" in him and said he failed to create the right profitable business model despite his best efforts.