Cafe Coffee Day Boss And SM Krishna's Son-in-Law Missing, Last Seen At Bridge

VG Siddhartha, the founder of the popular chain Cafe Coffee Day and son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, has gone missing from near a river in Mangaluru in Karnataka, the police say. He was last seen on a bridge over the Netravati river in the coastal town, according to reports.

The police have launched a massive search operation near the 1-km-long bridge; divers are scanning the muddy river. Cops on inflatable boats have joined the search.

In a letter that Mr Siddhartha reportedly wrote to the management and employees of the coffee chain, he expressed unhappiness over not creating "the right profitable business". "...I have failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts... Every financial transaction is my responsibility... The law should hold me and only me accountable," news agency ANI reported.

In his statement to the police, the businessman's driver Basavaraj Patil said they were going to Sakleshpur from Bengaluru in a Toyota Innova, a 220-km drive, when in the middle of the journey Mr Siddhartha asked him to go to Mangaluru.