Mangalore: VG Siddhartha, the founder of India’s largest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) and son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna, has been missing since Monday night. There are reports doing the rounds that he jumped off a bridge in Ullal.

The reports came after Mangaluru city police started a frantic search for a person who reportedly jumped off the kilometre-long bridge over the Netravati river at around 9pm, about 6km from Mangaluru.

One of the police officers confirmed that a massive search was on to locate the person.

Based on the statement of a car driver, the person is suspected to be Siddhartha.

Sources said the 60-year-old coffee baron had arrived at 8pm from Bengaluru in his SUV and had asked the driver to go to the Ullal bridge.

“Yesterday, he had left Bengaluru saying he was going to Sakleshpur. But on the way, he told the driver to go to Mangaluru. After reaching the Ullal bridge, he got down from the car. Siddhartha asked his driver to drive a little further and stop. He will come walking. However, he didn’t return. The dog squad used to locate him too stopped at the middle of the bridge,” Mangaluru city police commissioner Sandeep Patil said. 

Over 200 personnel, including 25 swimmers, have been pressed into service to locate him, the officer added.

VG Siddhartha, in his letter, said that he was “solely” responsible for the “mistakes” made. He also requested the staff and the board of directors, to whom the letter was addressed, to be “strong and continue running these businesses with a new management”.

He also said, “Every financial transaction is my responsbility. My team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me and only me accountable, as I have withheld this information from everybody including my family. My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur,”