Body of India’s coffee king found floating in river after disappearance

The mysterious disappearance of Indian coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha has come to a tragic resolution. The Café Coffee Day founder went missing while on a walk on a bridge in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Monday night. Police were searching for any sign of the man, but now his body has been found floating in the Netravati River.

While Siddhartha had built his coffee business into an empire and become one of India’s richest men, a note purportedly written by Siddhartha, and addressed to his board and employees, revealed financial woes, “tremendous pressure” from lenders, “harassment” by tax authorities, and “succumbing to the situation.” The letter has not been authenticated, but in the absence of other answers, Coffee Day Enterprises—the chain’s parent company—released the letter purportedly written and signed by Siddhartha and dated July 27, a few days before his disappearance.

Coffee Day Enterprises issued a statement expressing its condolences to Siddhartha’s family and hailing his “matchless energy, vision and business acumen.”

Reuters reports that shares in his Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd plunged to an all-time low on Wednesday upon news of the founder’s death.