VG Siddhartha missing: Yediyurappa, Kumaraswamy, others visit father-in-law SM Krishna

VG Siddhartha, the founder of Coffee Day, went missing in Mangaluru on Monday night.
VG Siddhartha missing: Yediyurappa, Kumaraswamy, others visit father-in-law SM Krishna
VG Siddhartha missing: Yediyurappa, Kumaraswamy, others visit father-in-law SM Krishna
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There has been a steady stream of visitors from across the political spectrum to the home of former External Affairs Minister and former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, whose son-in-law VG Siddhartha, the founder of Coffee Day, went missing on Monday night.

Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy visited the BJP leader’s residence on Bengaluru early on Tuesday morning, soon after the news of the disappearance broke. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda also paid a visit on Tuesday afternoon. 

Since then, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank, Congress Gadag MLA HK Patil, Congress Shivajinagar MLA Roshan Baig, Congress leader DK Shivakumar, former Deputy CM Parameshwara, BJP Molakalmuru MLA Sriramulu have all visited SM Krishna's residence.

Leaders have also written to the Centre asking for a probe into the entrepreneur's disappearance. BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje, in a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, sought the assistance of the Coastguard and Central forces to find the entrepreneur.

Speaking to reporters, DK Shivakumar said, "I suspect that he may be in the water but mostly that someone has taken him away. He called me on July 28 and told me he wanted to meet me. I told him I would meet him the next day or the day after that. But now I have received this information. The police are probing the matter. He is not just a mere person but someone who gave jobs to over 50,000 people of the state."

In a tweet, DK Shivakumar said it was 'unbelievable' that Siddhartha would resort to this, and said that the matter was fishy.

"However, I find this utterly fishy and urge that a thorough Investigation be conducted into this matter. Shri Siddhartha and his family were closely known to me for decades now," he said. 

SM Krishna was associated with the Congress for many years, before joining the BJP in 2017. The former Union Minister, Siddhartha's wife and sons are said to be inside the residence. 

Siddhartha and his left Bengaluru on Monday afternoon, informing his family that he was going to Sakleshpur in Hassan district. However, once in the car, he told his driver to proceed to Mangaluru. He got out of his car near a bridge across the Nethravathi river in Mangaluru and when he didn't return for over an hour, his driver informed the family. The Dakshina Kannada police have been searching for Siddhartha since last night. 

On Monday, a letter purportedly written by Siddhartha addressed to the Board of Directors emerged where he blamed himself for failing as an entrepreneur and said that he failed to create the right profitable business model despite his best efforts. While the authenticity of the letter is yet to be ascertained, it goes on to note that he was under tremendous pressure from lenders.

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