The body of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha, who went missing two days ago, was found by local fishermen and patrolling policemen on the banks of the Nethravathi river near Mangaluru on Wednesday.
A police official said "everything" points to suicide but nothing can be ruled out until the investigation is over.
Siddhartha, whose chain of cafes helped make coffee a lifestyle beverage and brought in latte, cappuccino, Americano and espresso into the urban Indian lexicon, was 69. He is survived by his wife Malavika and two sons.
His body was identified by his friends, said Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil.
Advertisement
Here is all you need to know:
-Born to a coffee plantation owner in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, Siddhartha has his association with the coffee business since he was young.
-He obtained a post-graduate in economics from St. Aloysius College in Mangalore and is married to the daughter of former Karnataka Chief Minister and former External Minister SM Krishna.
-In 1993, he set up a coffee trading company called Amalgamate Bean Company (ABC) with annual turnover over Rs 60 million and over the years it increased to over Rs 25 billion.
-Currently, Siddhartha has 200 exclusive retail outlets selling his brand of Coffee Day powder all over South India. ABC is India's largest exporter of green coffee.
Advertisement
-Expanding his business portfolio, Siddhartha ventured into IT sector too and founded Global Technology Ventures Limited that identifies, invests and mentors technology companies.
-He also entered the financial sector with the investment firm Sivan Securities Private Limited.
-The company has three subsidiaries - Chetan Wood Processing Private Limited, hospitality business Barefoot Resorts and timber trading - Dark Forest Furniture Company.
-Siddhartha has been witnessing rising debts, especially in the last few years. He was in news recently few months earlier following his stake sale in IT firm MindTree to L&T.
